Afraid to Fall
by Sparrow21
Summary: Brucas story Takes place after Season 2 finale... Brooke and Lucas think about all that has happened in their relationship and come to some conclusions. Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

**Afraid to Fall**

**Chapter 1 – What Happened?**

As she sat in the taxi cab on the way to the airport, away from the life she knew, she couldn't help but think how ironic it was that the weather matched her feelings. As the rain poured down, the drops ran quickly across the window mixed with tears that were flowing from her sad eyes. However to someone on the outside looking in, they wouldn't have been able to tell she was crying for the rain did a good job of hiding the tears. Though, if someone was to take a closer look, the pain would have been evident in her eyes.

"So where are ya headed?" asked the taxi cab driver in a semi interested voice. As he asked, he glanced in the rearview mirror to see her face. He noticed the tears that were freely falling from her eyes. "And why are you so sad? You leaving somebody behind?"

'Funny' she thought to herself. If someone would have asked her this question a few hours ago, she could have confidently answered and said 'Ya, my friends' but now she wasn't so sure. Yes she was still leaving her friends and she was going to miss them so much, especially Peyton, but now there was more to it. It was so much more complicated since he said those five words. "I wanna be with you" he had said. That was the last thing she expected to hear. Now she felt as though she was leaving so much more and she knew she was. She was scared though.

She looked up at the driver; her eyes still filled with tears and whispered "I'm leaving everything."

Lucas sat on his bed with the empty bottle that used to contain his HCM medication and thought about everything that was happening. Nathan said he didn't want to be friends with him, let alone brothers anymore, Haley was on tour in New York and said she wasn't coming back, his mother was in New Zealand for, he didn't even know how long, and the one thing that mattered more then any of those was on her way to California for the entire summer. Now he was sitting on his bed with the empty bottle and he had no idea what he was gonna do. He couldn't sit there, in her, technically his old room, with all the reminders of her anymore. Somehow he found himself walking along the beach and in the distance he could see someone sitting with their knees pulled up to their chest. Once he walked a little closer he saw that it was Peyton who was sitting like a lost child would when scared.

"Long day?" he said.

"You have no idea." She simply stated glancing briefly up towards him as he still stood above her.

"I can relate." Lucas said in a matter of fact tone of voice with a little hint of laughter at the end. He sat down next to her and leaned back on his hands propping himself up. "So you wanna talk about it?"

"Do you?" Peyton answered his question with one of her own. She noticed the sad and longing look in his eyes and how run down he seemed to be. She wasn't sure what it was but figured it would all come out in due time.

"Not really. So how about we just sit here together and keep each other company? Better then being alone, right?" He asked with eyebrows raised.

"Right." Was all Peyton said before they both sat for what seemed like hours just staring out towards the waves crashing against the shore. Finally Peyton looked up towards Lucas who was of course doing his usual brooding stare and asked barely above a whisper "What happened to us?"

Lucas looked over questioningly at Peyton with the hint of confusion in his eyes. "What?"

"I mean, everything is so screwed up right now. What happened to things being simple? I mean, what happened this year? I feel like my whole world is falling down in front of me and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I can't… I can't hold it up anymore." Lucas looked over at her and saw her on the verge of tears and knew something big must have happened. He didn't even know what to say and that was something that didn't happen to Lucas Scott. He always had some sort of wise advice or a comment to make but not this time. So he thought it was best to just not say anything at all. He was playing with the sand in front of him when he heard her speak again.

"Jake left and I don't know if he's coming back and then a woman showed up on my doorstep claiming to be my 'real' mother." She never even looked at him when she said any of it; she kept her eyes focused on the water because she didn't want to cry in front of him.

"Wow! um… when did all this happen?" he wasn't sure how to go about this conversation. So he just decided to get straight down to details and find out everything she would tell him before saying something of value.

"Jake left last night and well this whole real mom thing, that was today." She said weakly.

After that she decided she couldn't keep all of it inside so she told him the whole story about Jake first because after all Lucas was Jakes best friend and he should know what was going on with him. Then she told him the whole situation with Elizabeth, her supposed real mom. All the while Lucas just sat back and listened. Really listened like she knew he would. He was a good friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – The Truth**

While she sat in her first class seat on the airplane all she could think about was the conversation she had with Lucas before she walked out the door. 'He didn't want Peyton.' She just couldn't wrap her mind around that. She had wanted him to say that for so long and when he does, what does she do? "I run in the other direction." She said out loud to no one in particular. But the man sitting next to her heard and turned to look in her direction. The man could tell she had been crying from the redness and puffiness around her eyes. He wasn't sure if he should say anything but decided against it when she closed her eyes again deep in thought.

She exhaled and let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding. She was still trying to get a hold of her emotions and was at the point where she was so tired she couldn't sleep. But then again, she couldn't have slept even if she wanted to. So much was going on in her head right now and she just couldn't sort it all out. She decided that she would try to get her mind off things by watching the movie that was playing on the flight. She picked up the manual from the seat pocket and started looking through it to find the page the 'In Flight' information movie was on. She finally found the page and it said 'Serendipity' staring Kate Beckinsdale and John Cusack. She had never seen that movie and thought it would be something good to get her mind off Lucas. She also figured since she hadn't seen it, it was probably good cause then she could throw herself completely into the movie. 'At this point, I'll try anything!'

Once the movie had ended, she was in an even more depressed mood then before. Someone really should have told her the movie was about two people who are fated to be together and go through numerous obstacles to get to each other. As soon as it ended, she was right back to where she was trying to escape from and this time she had many more questions then before.

They sat there completely quiet, Lucas trying to comprehend and figure out everything Peyton had just said and Peyton was trying to sort it all out herself.

"So now that I just told you why I'm so depressed, now it's your turn. Spill." Peyton said looking over at him.

Lucas sat a minute still looking at the sand beneath his feet and he turned to Peyton with a pained expression. All throughout Peyton's story he had momentarily forgotten about his evening. He took a deep breath before saying "where do I begin. First off, Dan told me I mean nothing to him, Haley said she isn't coming home from New York, my mom went to New Zealand for the summer, Nathan told me he doesn't want to be my friend, let alone brother anymore, and all that's nothing compared to the end of my night."

"Um… okay, well if all that's nothing, then something huge must of happened because that all pretty much sucks." Peyton said in a baffled and shocked tone.

"Yeah… well I… I finally told Brooke how I feel about her and I kissed her and all she said was 'I gotta go'." Lucas said all in one breathe for the longer it took for him to say, the more it pained him.

He looked over to the expression on Peyton's face since she hadn't said anything yet and when he looked at her, her face showed signs of compassion and understanding.

"Lucas." She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she should pry and ask what exactly happened or if he would tell her or if she should just wait till she talked to Brooke to get all the details and she knew she would be talking to Brooke about this. Just seeing the heartbreak in his eyes told her everything she needed to know about how he felt but she was surprised to hear that Brooke just walked out. That wasn't like her.

"I…I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me or anything because I know that this is personal but I am hear to listen if you wanna tell me what happened." Peyton said not knowing if she should have.

"I love her Peyt, but I think I lost her tonight. I just… I couldn't let her go without telling her how I feel and I know that might be selfish but I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I hadn't told her and I started thinking, ya know, what if she doesn't come back for Senior year and" he paused and thought for a second before adding "I don't even want to think about that. I just… I didn't know what to do and so I kissed her and then she just walked out. What do I do now?" He finished in the same monotonous voice that he started with while looking up at her, pleading with his crystal blue eyes for her advice.

She saw the battle he was having inside himself right now and she felt for him. She really wasn't sure what to tell him because this was never her expertise, it was his. He was always the one helping out his friends, He was the one who had the words of wisdom and advice, He was the one to go to for any problems you were having and right now, as she was looking into his begging eyes, she had no idea what to tell him.

"Lucas. I'm sorry. I'm not sure what to tell you. I… I don't really know what to say. I do know that she thought you were still hooked on me so I'm not sure what all she thought about that. If you don't mind, what exactly happened?"

"We were saying goodbye and we hugged and when we pulled away I just sort of kissed her. She was taken back and asked if it was a goodbye kiss and that's when I told her I wanted to be with her and she did ask about that stuff I had of you and I explained it and then she jut said she had to go."

"Well how did you explain the stuff you had of me cause I'm kind of curious myself. She did mention that to me the other day and I thought it was sorta strange cause I didn't think you were hung up on me still."

"The reason I have all that stuff is so I can look at it and remember how I screw up everything last year with Brooke and so I could remind myself to not do that again. I don't want to be that person ever again. That's not who I want to be and that's what I told Brooke. I said it was to remind myself that if I ever got a second chance with her, I'd never do anything to screw it up again. That's why I kept all that stuff."

"I knew when she said that you had all that stuff there had to be more to it then you still liking me." Peyton said in an exasperated tone. She was playing with her hands and Lucas had his arms resting on his knees. It seemed like they had been there forever but in reality it had been almost three hours. Lucas new soon that they would leave and he didn't want to. Not because he wouldn't be sitting with Peyton anymore but more the fact that he just didn't want to go back to his house that was empty but held so many reminders of Brooke.

"Lucas I can't tell you what Brooke is thinking and I can't tell you what is gonna come next, but I can tell you that if I know Brooke and I like to believe I do, she is probably just scared. Everything she has wanted for so long just came true and she doesn't know what to think or feel. Just give her a little time, I know she is gonna regret leaving without saying anything to you. When she does open up to you, and I think she will, just understand that. I think it will all work out okay." That was the best she could do and she didn't think it came out sounding half bad. She hoped it was good advice that could help him.

"Thanks Peyton for listening to me. I know you have your own problems and you didn't need to hear all mine." Lucas stated finally remembering everything Peyton had on her mind. "Well maybe its time I go, I need some rest and no offense but you could you it too!" Lucas said trying to lighten the mood.

"Well thanks Luke, you really know how to kick a girl when she's down!" Peyton said with laughter in her voice. This is the way she wanted their evening to come to an end. It was so serious all night it was nice to get a little laugh. Lucas stood up, brushed his pants off, and reached his hand out for Peyton to grab. She welcomingly took it and allowed herself to be pulled up by him. They each reached to hug each other and laughed a little at how alike they really were.

"Thanks Luke, for listening. I think that's all I really wanted. Night." She gave him a slight smile and started off down the beach.

"Goodnight Peyton." He yelled after her and took off in the opposite direction.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Lost**

Once the plane landed in California, Brooke was waiting for her parents who said that they would pick her up but as she had a feeling this would happen, they were no where in sight. She had tried their cell phones but to no avail, neither was answering. She didn't even know how to get to the house so she couldn't even get a cab to take her there. So the only option she had was to sit and wait. Which were two things that Brooke Davis did not do well. She was so tired from all the crying and the weakness her body was feeling and all she wanted to do was sit down. She made her way over to a lounge area where there were big comfy chairs.

She picked one by the window that looked out onto the runway where she could watch the planes coming in and taking off. She was watching the planes for about 20 minutes when she started wondering where all of the people were going. She wondered if they were going for work, or vacation, whether they were going to visit a loved one or maybe they were sneaking off to be alone with someone other then there husband or wife. Whatever the reason, she knew where she wished she was. If she could pick anywhere in the world right now to be, she knew exactly where she would pick. She would choose to be behind the red door. And that thought scared her. Did she make the wrong decision? Did she lose what she has wanted for so long? All the questions came flooding back into her mind. She wished she could just turn her mind off. Keep it from going over the same stuff. She decided since she had some time she would try to close her eyes and get some rest.

She was just falling asleep when something was tapping her leg. She opened her eyes to look into bright blue eyes that reminded her of the one thing she was trying to forget. She looked at the little boy who was standing in front of her with tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't have been any older than 5 and he looked scared. "What's wrong sweetie?" Brooke asked the little boy.

Sniffling and wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt before answering, he looked up into Brooke's eyes and said "I can't find my mommy! I don't know where she went." He said as he started to look around the airport frantically. Brooke said "Ok well I'm Brooke. Is it ok if I help you find your mom?"

"Yea" was all he said and reached out for Brooke's hand. "What's your name sweetie?" Brooke asked. "Scott, Scott Adams." 'How appropriate that his name would be Scott, figures' Brooke thought. "Okay Scott, what does mommy look like?"

"She… she has dark hair like yours" Scott paused in the middle of his description to sniff "and she has on a green shirt. We were sitting over there I think. I don't know" And then he started crying again. Brooke felt so sorry for this little boy and she also found it funny that they were in similar situations, here he was looking for his parents like she was supposed to do but the only difference was his mom was probably looking for him too.

"Okay well don't cry Scott, we will find her. Don't worry sweetie, she's looking for you right now too and we will find her. Come on lets go look over here. Do you know mommy's name?"

"Kate. Mommy's name is Kate." "Okay, good. So tell me Scott do you live in California?" As they were walking and little Scott was holding Brooke's hand, she was trying to keep him talking so he wouldn't start crying again. She was asking him all sorts of questions and he was a smart little boy because he knew the answer to almost all of her questions. But then Brooke asked her last question. "So tell me sweetie, how did you get lost from your mommy?"

Scott looked up at Brooke with those baby blue eyes and answered simply "I didn't mean to but I dropped my basketball and it rolled away. I went to go get it and when I came back, mommy wasn't there anymore." Brooke knew it; of course this would get her thinking about Lucas. I mean, the little boy had baby blue eyes, just like the ones in Tree Hill she knew so well, his name was Scott and as if that wasn't enough, he was playing with a basketball. If Brooke believed in signs, she would have been on a plane back to Tree Hill 10 minutes ago. As she was thinking this, they rounded a corner and ran straight into a woman with dark hair and a green shirt. The woman was so frantic all she said was "I'm sorry" and kept on walking. Brooke, shaken a little at first, realized it was Scott's mother and yelled out to her "Kate is this who you're looking for?" Kate whipped around and saw a woman holding her little boys hand. "Scott! Where have you been? Are you okay? Come here sweetie!" Scott let go of Brookes hand and ran to his mother.

"Mommy!" Scott cried and leaped into his mothers waiting arms. Brooke stood back and watched as they hugged. She wasn't sure what to say so she simply said "Hi, I'm Brooke, Scott asked me if I could help him look for you when he couldn't find you."

"Thank you so much Brooke. I ran into one of those shops to get a book and…" she held up a blue paper back book and Brooke almost cried at the sight of it. The woman standing in front of her was holding up Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' and with that simple action, a flood of memories wash over Brooke. She was so focused on the book that she completely forgot Kate was talking to her. "Brooke, are you okay? You still with me?"

Brooke shook her head a little and said "Oh yeah, I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"Just… thank you again. I don't know what I would have done if I lost this guy." Just as she said that, a woman's voice came over the loudspeaker and said 'Flight 318 heading to Chicago O'hare is now boarding' and with that Kate looked up. "I hate to just run, but that's our flight. Thank you so much Brooke. For everything." And with that, Kate and Scott said goodbye to Brooke and were on their way to the awaiting plane. Brooke stood there for a couple minutes watching them walk off, wondering what all this meant. Why was everything pointing her to Lucas? Were they meant to be just some fling that lasted 2 months where he cheated on her? Maybe they were just meant to be friends. She wasn't sure. She shook her head trying to clear it and looked down at the ground. When she looked down, she noticed Kate had left the book she bought and she left it at Brooke's feet. 'Maybe Lucas and I are meant to be' she thought. She gracefully bended down and picked up the book. She thought back to when Lucas brought her to the library where she thought it smelled and Lucas reminded her it was just the smell of old books. She lifted the book up to her nose to smell if it had that same smell, the smell of better times without out heartache and pain but it just smelled like a new book. As she walked back to her comfy chair, book in hand, she sat down and curled her knees up to her chest and contemplated opening the book. She had nothing to do and maybe it would help her get her mind off Lucas. 'Right, this will help!' She thought to herself. Then she opened Of Mice and Men and read Lucas' favorite book.

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I haven't really gotten any reviews so I'm not sure if I should continue with this story or not. I know it starts out slow but I promise, if you are a Brucas freak like I am, you will love this story by the end. Let me know... Thanks - Charley


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Best Friends**

Lucas walked home that night thinking of the walk he had taken with Brooke so many nights ago when she thought she was leaving Tree Hill for good. That was the night that he brought her to his house and showed her her 'new room' at his house. He thought back to how she was always looking around that night and when he questioned her about it she said that she was trying to take pictures in her mind so she could remember everything about Tree Hill. In that moment he fell even more in love with her then he already was. That was the things he loved about her, the simple little things that she showed him about herself. She would show him her vulnerable side and that was one thing that Brooke Davis did not show many other people, only her closest friends. He was honored that she showed him that side.

Soon he walked through the front door to his house. It was dark, empty, and lonely. This was the last place he wanted to be while he was feeling this way. It only made him more depressed. He threw his keys and wallet on the table and walked through the kitchen to his bedroom. There was still so many reminders of Brooke in his room but even though it was painful, he would rather sit in there and look at her stuff rather than any other room of the house. He wasn't sure what to do so he decided to write his mom and e-mail and see if she made it to New Zealand yet. So he sat down at his computer and started typing:

Hey Mom –

I just wanted to check in and see if you made it yet. You'll have to tell me all about what it's like there. I miss you already and you've been gone what, 12 hours? Haha… its weird not having anybody here. I mean last time you left I was with Keith but this time it really is just me. Brooke left today, she said goodbye by the way. Mom, I want you to have fun and I don't want you to worry about me. I will be fine here. Everyone else is gonna be gone for the summer so it will just be me and Peyton. I'll probably play a lot of ball and just work at the Café. But I guess I'm gonna go to bed so I will talk to you soon I hope. I love you mom. Tell Andy I said hi.

Love Lucas

With that Lucas pulled his shit over his head and put on a pair of pajama pants, turned off the light and got into bed. He lay there for awhile just staring up at the ceiling thinking about everything that had happened today. He hoped tomorrow wouldn't be as hard but he doubted that. He eventually drifted off to sleep with only thoughts of Brooke in his head.

Brooke was surprised when she realized that she was half way through the book. She had never been a fast reader because well she never read. But that all changed when she met a broody, blue eyed boy. She never really realized all the different things he opened her eyes to. And for that, she would always be thankful, no matter what happened between them and right now, she still wasn't sure what was gonna happen between them.

She was just getting to the end of a really god chapter when she felt her cell phone vibrating in her purse that was sitting next to her. She put the book down, frustrated for the interruption, and dug into her purse to see who it was. She was hoping it was her parents since she was stranded at the airport! She finally found it underneath her compact and pulled it out. She flipped it open and saw 'Peyton' flashing on the screen.

"So you'll never guess what my parents did to me. I'll tell ya, the stranded me at the airport, that's what. Can you believe that! They make me move all the way to California when I didn't even want to in the first place and they…" she said until she was interrupted by Peyton.

"Whoa… slow down. Nice to know you made it in one piece."

"Sorry, I'm just really pissed at my parents right now and I'm tired and frustrated and I don't want to be at the airport anymore."

"So are you sure that you being pissed at your parents is the only thing that has you frustrated and tired right now?" Peyton said somewhat hesitant to bring the subject up. She knew Brooke would pretend she wasn't upset about it but Peyton knew her better then that and she knew that many tears must have stained her usually flawless face.

"Well yeah, what else would I be frustrated about? Other than being somewhere I don't want to be at all?" Brooke said. She wasn't sure what exactly Peyton was getting at.

"Brooke, he was a mess." Peyton stated with a matter of fact tone of voice.

Brooke was silent. She didn't know that that's what she was talking about. He told her? She wasn't sure if that bothered her or not. 'Why should it, I mean he told you right before you left that he was in love with you, right?' she thought.

"Brooke say something, talk to me." Peyton was pleading with her to let her in. She wanted to know how she felt about all of it. She really didn't want to talk about it over the phone but what else was she gonna do? They were on opposite sides of the country right now but that didn't matter. She was gonna be there for her friend because she knew she needed her.

"You talked to him about what happened?" Brooke asked barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, we ran into each other at the beach. We both went out there to think and we started talking. He's scared he's lost you Brooke. He doesn't understand why you just walked out. What happened?"

As she heard Peyton say that he was scared he lost her, it brought tears to her eyes. She really didn't want to be a crying mess in the airport but what was she gonna do? She couldn't control it. Lucas brought that out in her. "I didn't know what to say. I got scared, so I left."

Peyton knew the second she started talking that she was crying. 'Why can't I be there when she needs me?' Peyton thought to herself. "Brooke, leaving without saying anything probably wasn't the best thing to do. He doesn't know what to think."

"What was I supposed to say? He just… just sprung that on me and…"

"Do you love him?" Peyton said interrupting Brooke once again.

"Peyton, it's not that simple."

"Yes it is Brooke, yes or no?"

Brooke hesitated before answering. She knew the answer; it was the same as it had been for the last year. Yes she loved him. How couldn't she? Yes he had cheated on her and she was heartbroken over that but she couldn't deny her heart, what it was telling her she wanted.

"Yes" was all she said into the phone. That was the first time she had said it out loud and she didn't know what to do now.

"If you do, then why did you just leave him standing there?" Peyton asked trying to be understanding.

"I'm scared Peyton. I'm scared to let him in and give him my heart again. I can't go through what I went through last year again. I just… I can't." Brooke said trying to keep her voice calm and from choking up.

"Brooke he's not the same person as he was last year and neither are you. You both have changed and grown. I know this and so do you. I know it's hard but would you rather be with him… or without him?"

Brooke thought about that for a second and knew the answer. She didn't even really have to think about it. She closed her eyes and could feel his fingers grazing her arms, the way his kisses lingered on her lips, the way he would wrap his arms tightly and protectively around her when they hugged. She finally answered Peyton with her eyes still closed, "Peyt… what have I done? God, I'm so stupid!" She ran her fingers threw her hair frustrated with herself. She knew he was different than last year, she could tell when she looked in his piercing eyes. He told her everything that way, he held all his emotions and feelings right there for her to see and she loved that.

"Then call him and tell him that. Tell him that you're scared. He'll understand Brooke. Tell him how you feel and go through everything together. It's what you both want and deserve." Peyton said happy that her friends were gonna get a second chance.

"You really think I should? I mean what do I say and plus it's late now and he's probably sleeping and…" she was cut off by Peyton.

"Stop being chicken and just call! You'll know what to say. Just tell him what's in your heart."

"So best friend, when did you get so good at giving advice? I haven't even been gone for a whole day!" Brooke laughed a little as she asked; baffled at the good advice her friend was giving her.

Peyton was actually surprised herself. She had no idea where all this was coming from. She was actually making sense to not only herself but to Brooke as well. "I had a good teacher."

"Yeah, he is pretty good isn't he?" Brooke said knowing exactly who Peyton was referring to. "Well, I guess I'm gonna go. Thanks Peyton, you really are my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for. Plus, I expect all the details when you're done with your next phone call!" Peyton said knowing that Brooke would fill her in on everything.

"Of course! I'll talk to you later Peyt. I love you." "Love you too." And with that Brooke and Peyton ended their phone call.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guy's... sorry this is so short but i wanted to get an update out there for you all and i have been crazy busy with school and just life in general so i apologize! I am working on the next chapter now. Thank you guys for your reviews, they mean a lot. The more reviews i get the faster i type so please keep them coming! Okay, enough of this and on with chapter 5!

**Chapter 5 – Wake Me Up**

Lucas had been restlessly tossing and turning all night. He hoped that this wouldn't be an every night occurrence. He would never get any sleep if that was the case. He rolled over on his side to get a better look at the clock. The bright green lights coming from the clock read 3:36am. He rolled back over and put his hands behind his head. He could hear the rattling of the fan above his head as it turned and turned and he felt like that was what was going on inside his head. His mind was going in circles and he couldn't stop it. There was a loud crackle of thunder outside his window as the rain was pouring down. He could see the lightning flickering outside his window and could hear the raindrops vicariously hitting the window pane. He found it funny how when your by yourself and all that there was around you was emptiness, you could hear the slightest of noises. It made him feel somewhat uneasy.

All of a sudden the empty silence was replaced by the shrill ringing of the phone. Lucas sat up in bed and looked at the clock again, 3:48 it read. 'What the hell?' Lucas got out of bed and turned the lamp on his nightstand on and reached for the phone. He squinted as the light hit his eyes. He picked up the phone and groggily said "Hello?"

There was nothing there. "Hello?" he said a little more annoyed seeing as it was almost 4 in the morning.

"I wanna be with you too." Came a small, fragile voice on the other end of the line. 'God he sounds so sexy when he just wakes up' Brooke thought.

At first Lucas was taken back but he would know that voice anywhere. "What?" he asked shocked to hear her voice on the other line. She was the last person he expected to hear when he answered the phone.

"I wanna be with you too." This time she said it more confidently.

"I thought you went to California?"

"I did."

"Oh…" the disappointment evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry I called so late, I know you must have been sleeping but I realized something while I was in the airport. I realized that… that I would rather be with you than without you, I'm sorry I just walked out. I just… I didn't know what to say at the time and the taxi was there and I know that's not an excuse but…"

She was then cut off by Lucas. "Brooke! Brooke! You're rambling. I understand its… its okay. I shouldn't have just ambushed you with that. It wasn't fair to you and…" This time Brooke cut Lucas off.

"No Lucas… I'm glad you told me. Really I am, I mean the timing wasn't really the greatest but I am glad you told me." Then there was a pause on both ends of the phone. Neither knew what to say. But then finally Lucas, who couldn't take the awkward silence anymore, asked "So what do we do now? I mean what comes next?"

"I don't really know. I mean, ya know my parents are in California and I am supposed to stay all summer so…" Brooke said glad that Lucas had finally said something. "I do know that I wanna take it slow. I don't just want to rush into anything. As we both know that didn't work out so well last time." They both gave out little knowing laughs.

"Yeah… I know what you mean and I wanna take it slow too. But I do know I want this to work Brooke. I know I hurt you last time but I want you to know…"

Brooke cut Lucas off again "I know Lucas but I wanna wait to talk all this stuff out face to face. I think it would be better that way."

"Okay… I can wait for you." With this comment Brooke felt her face blush a bright shade of pink.

Brooke slightly giggled before saying "Okay… well I better go, but I can't wait to see you." Brooke left that last comment open; she didn't want to say when she would next see him.

"Yeah… I can't wait to see you either. Have a good summer Brooke and we'll talk when you get back." Lucas said sad that they had to hang up. He could listen to her talk for hours. "Call me, okay?"

"Yeah… I will. Bye Lucas, Goodnight."

"Goodnight Brooke."

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Again... sorry this one is so short, next one will be longer. Thanks - Charley


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Beautiful**

After that both Lucas and Brooke hung up their phones. Both sat there staring at them for a minute or so before it actually hit them that they just talked and it had a good outcome.

Lucas set the phone back on the receiver and went and sat on the edge of his bed. He couldn't help the smile that was quickly making its way onto his face. Brooke said she wanted to be with him too! That was all he could have asked for. Just then a clap of thunder shook him out of his thoughts. He couldn't wait for her to get back. He lay back down on his bed, put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Just then he heard the slightest tapping on his bedroom door. He sat up again and listened a little more to make sure it wasn't just the rain dripping on the gutter outside his door.

'Tap, Tap, Tap' there it was again. Lucas got up and walked to the door. He swung it open gently and looked up to be looking into the hazel eyes he had long ago memorized.

He was speechless. She looked beautiful. Brooke was always a beauty but never more so then in this moment. Her hair was down and dripping wet with water, she had her make up done flawlessly with the exception of the rain drops that were making her glisten but they just added to the glow of her face. Her eyes held only one emotion, which so happened to match his own, love. She was wearing a pair of hip hugger jeans, a black tank top, and a black jacket, all of which were soaked from the rain. "Brooke…" Lucas looked her up and down; never blinking for fear this was all a dream. "I thought you were in California?"

"Well I'll explain it all but can I come inside first? I'm freezing!" Brooke said enjoying the surprise she decided to give him. And she wasn't minding the way he looked in only a pair of blue draw string pajama pants.

"Oh… yeah of course, sorry come in!" Lucas said still shocked to see her on his doorstep. He stepped aside and let her step into his bedroom. She walked past him and went and stood in the middle of the room. Lucas closed the door behind him and turned around to face her. She looked so cute and vulnerable standing in the middle of his room with her arms wrapped around her shoulders trying to warm herself up.

"Here… let me get you something so you can get warmed up." Lucas said as he walked past her and over to the closet. He pulled out his grey 'Keith Scott Bodyshop' hoodie since it was her favorite and he always loved the way it was way too big on her and then he got out a pair of his basketball shorts and handed them to her. She looked up so innocently and stared at the sweatshirt and let out a light laugh.

"Thanks… my favorite." Brooke looked up into his piercing blue eyes and got butterflies in her stomach. He was the only guy who had ever been able to do that to her.

"Yeah… they always looked better on you anyways." Brooke gave a quiet laugh and walked towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and changed. While she was in the bathroom, Lucas couldn't take his eyes off the door. He just couldn't believe that she was actually here. This whole day had been so bizarre. First everything with Dan, and Nathan and everyone, then she leaves, then he gets the phone call, and now she standing on the other side of the bathroom door changing into his clothes. 'This has been the longest day of my life! But it was worth it' Lucas thought to himself.

Behind the bathroom door, Brooke just finished putting his sweatshirt over her head and was looking at reflection in the mirror. She thought she looked horrible. Her hair was flat and dripping wet, her make up was starting to wash away from the rain and her mascara was smudging just under her eyes. But she didn't care because Lucas had seen her at her worst and he always looked at her the same way, like she was beautiful. She was so glad she decided to get on that plane to come back to Tree Hill. She picked up her clothes and opened up the bathroom door expecting to see Lucas but when she stepped out of the bathroom, he was nowhere to be found.

Just when she was about to open his bedroom door, he opened it from the other side.

"Sorry, I just went to get you a towel to dry out your hair." Lucas said when he saw her standing in the doorway. She looked down somewhat embarrassed it seemed to him and said "Thanks" and she bit her bottom lip. He handed her the towel and walked over towards the bed and sat down on the edge. He looked up at her and she was squeezing her hair on the towel. She looked over at him and then he said "So… you gonna tell me why you're here instead of California, especially since I just talked to you on the phone and you said you were in California." Lucas said looking up at her coyly with a smile playing on his lips.

Brooke looked up with the same coy expression and answered "Oh wait a second… I never said I was in California, I said I went to California." She had a huge smile on her face which brought out her dimples. She loved playing games like this with him cause he could match her wit like on one else could. She walked over and sat on the bed next to him and simply looked over at him.

"Okay… so you went to California and came back in one night?" Lucas understood but he was still confused. Brooke slightly giggled at his confusion, "Pretty much."

"Well what happened in California?"

"I got off the plane and my so called parents were supposed to pick me up but I should have known they wouldn't be there. They never showed up and I tried to call but no one answered. Surprise, surprise." Brooke stated in her tone of voice she only reserves for when she talks about her parents.

"So you were in the LAX airport by yourself? Well what did you do? I mean… how long were you there?" Lucas questioned in a protective manner which Brooke found adorable. "I went and found a chair that looked out onto the runway and I watched the planes taking off and landing. I helped a little boy find his mom after he got lost and I read a book." She knew the last one would catch him off guard. "You read a book? Really! And what book did you occupy your time with?" He was looking at her intensely but they were flirting with their eyes. Brooke's smile got even bigger if that was possible at his obvious enjoyment with the conversation. "Well I think you would approve of the book actually, I think its one of your favorites." She said trying to play this a little longer; she was enjoying the flirtatious banter that was being played between the two. "One of my favorites, huh?" he asked with eyebrows raised. "Yeah… Of Mice and Men." When she said that, his smile also got bigger.

"Of Mice and Men, I'm impressed. The whole book?" he asked honestly impressed with how much Brooke had grown since he first met her. "Yep… the whole book, I had a lot of time on my hands between my wait at the airport and the plane ride back." She said matter of factly. There was a long pause until Lucas finally said, "So… why'd you come back tonight?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Different**

This was what Lucas had been waiting to hear since he had found her on his doorstep. She looked down at her hands with which she was playing with her ring and then looked back up at him.

"Well I sort of have to back track things… if that makes sense. Peyton called me while I was sitting in the airport." She looked over to see the expression on his face. He had a knowing smile on his face and he just chuckled a little. "I knew she would be calling you sooner or later. We had a long talk at the beach and I knew you two would talk eventually." He said resting his elbows on his knees. "Yeah well we talked and she said some things that actually made sense and that's what really got me thinking of coming back but there were a couple other things. First, on the way to California they played this movie called 'Serendipity' and it was about two people who are fated to be together, then there was the little boy who I told you I helped find his mom? Well his name was Scott, he had baby blue, piercing eyes, and he was playing with a basketball." She said with raised eyebrows. "But the final straw was when the mother of the little boy dropped and left the book she had just bought." Brooke looked into his eyes to see if he had caught on yet.

Lucas simply nodded and then said "Of Mice and Men." "I couldn't get away from things that reminded me of you." Brooke simply said.

"So that made you come back tonight?" Lucas asked. "Well that plus I thought about how my mom and dad were the ones who were making me go but then they weren't even there to pick me up. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm sure I would've just ended up by myself like I always do and my parents wouldn't have even been there. They would have been on some island or yacht not even thinking about me. So I decided to hop on the next flight back to Tree Hill. I left them a message on my dad's cell phone."

"Well… whatever reason you decided to come back, I'm glad you're here." Lucas genuinely said. And he meant it. He was ecstatic that she was sitting next to him. Brooke blushed slightly at his comment but was glad he felt that way. "Are you warmed up?" he asked straying away from the topic.

"Yeah… your sweatshirt did a good job of that." She said snuggling in closer to the fabric. "So about us…" Brooke was kind of hesitant to bring it up but she wanted to talk everything out. Lucas looked over at her and said "Yeah… about us. Brooke I am… I am so glad you came back. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen with us and I know I shouldn't have just sprung it on you the way I did. But I couldn't let you leave without telling you how I feel."

"I was shocked when you said that you wanted to be with me, and I didn't know how to react. Plus when I found Peyton's stuff, I wasn't sure what that meant but then you told me that it was just a reminder of how you screwed up and I was just so overwhelmed with emotions that I did the only thing that I could to get away. I ran… and I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to hurt you that way. That was not my intention, I just had to get away and think and what better place than 2000 miles away?"

"I know this is gonna be hard Brooke cause I know with everything that happened last year you probably don't trust me anymore. But I want you to know that I am not the same person I was last year, I've changed and I know you have too. I mean look at you, Ms. Class President, reading Of Mice and Men, you've changed and you did it for yourself… not for anyone else. I'm proud of you." When Lucas said that, she fell in love with him all over again. He was so different than any other boy she had ever gone out with. He was caring, gentle, sweet, and he encouraged her to do the things she wanted to do for herself and no one else. That's why she had gone to him when she had to write her speech to become President. He told her to be herself and that's exactly what he did and she won.

"Stop… you're making me blush." Brooke teased. "I know you're different Lucas, if I didn't, then I wouldn't be here. I forgave you for the whole 'love triangle' situation and I do trust you. When you said you wanted to be with me, I… I got scared because that was exactly what I had been waiting so long to hear from you. But I want to be with you too." Brooke was near tears but she didn't want to cry right now. Not that she really cared if Lucas saw her cry, but more that she didn't want him to think that she was crying about all the drama they went through last year. She was crying mostly because she was scared, anxious, and happy all at the same time. Her emotions were on over load.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that." Lucas said adoringly looking Brooke straight in the eye. Brooke moved her legs so she was now sitting Indian style on his bed facing him. "Lucas… I do want to be with you, but I want to take things slow. I don't just want to rush into this again. I want to start from the beginning. I want to start over." She said shyly. She wasn't sure why she was feeling doubtful about saying that. Lucas sensed this in her eyes and he took his index finger and gently lifted her chin so that their eyes were looking straight into each others. "Hey… hey, that's perfect. We don't have to rush in to anything. We can go as slow as you want." Brooke looked in his eyes and knew she was right where she wanted to be. She couldn't help herself… she leaned forward and put her hand on his cheek and lightly rubbed his cheek with her thumb. She looked in his eyes and just knew, she couldn't explain it. She leaned in a little further and her lips touched his. Lucas was surprised at first but it took only a second for him to kiss her back. They pulled apart slowly, Brooke still had her eyes closed reveling in the moment and Lucas just looked lovingly at her. What had taken him so long he wondered? Brooke opened her eyes and smiled up at him.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you guys so much for your reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate them! Anyways... I am sorry if these updates areshort,I'm just really trying to balanceeverything in my crazy life right now so please bare with me! Hopefully it will get better and Ican write more. I just really wanna put something out there for you guys since I know when you read a story and you wanna see an update, it's like the best feeling ever when one is finally up! (at least for me it is!) Anyways... on with chapter 8!

**Chapter 8 – Wrapped Up**

They were sitting silently staring at one another completely lost in each others eyes, neither wanting to ruin the moment that they had just had. It had been perfect. Brooke couldn't help it when she yawned a little, scrunching her nose as she did so. Lucas thought it was adorable and couldn't wait to learn all her funny, cute facial expressions again. Then he remembered the day she had gone through, all the flying and waiting around and figured she had to be exhausted. Plus it didn't help that it was nearly 5 in the morning now.

"You must be exhausted" Lucas finally said, breaking their comfortable silence. Brooke kept looking into his eyes and sighed, "Yeah… I guess it all of a sudden hit me. This has been a long day." She said, nodding her head as she thought over the previous events of the day. "By the way, I never asked you when you came in, where is all your luggage? I know you left with like… 3 suitcases." Lucas had completely forgotten about all that stuff the minute he saw her standing in the rain looking like a goddess.

"I dropped all my stuff off at Peyton's before I came over here. She was just as surprised to see me as you were, if not more. I am gonna be staying with her for a while until we figure all this out. Plus, if we do fall under the title of boyfriend and girlfriend again, that would be kind of weird living together, especially without Karen here. Don't get me wrong, it would definitely have its advantages…" she said raising her eyebrows with a smile forming on her lips, "… but that kind of ruins the whole 'taking it slow' idea." Lucas had to laugh at her explanation. He didn't care if she stayed at his house or at Peyton's, he just wanted her here. "That's cool Brooke; it doesn't matter where you stay, as long as you're here." He genuinely smiled and that was her favorite smile. Lucas had many smiles, one when he was laughing, and one when he was trying not to laugh, one when he was talking to or about his friends, one for his mom, one when he was confused and her favorite, one reserved only for her.

"Well good… um… well then I guess I should go." Brooke said in a hesitant voice. She really, really didn't want to leave but she did just tell him that she was staying at Peyton's so she wasn't sure what to say. Lucas looked over at her when she said that she should go. He didn't want her to leave. Mainly because he just wanted to sit and talk to her all night like they used to but also cause he didn't want to go back to the emptiness of his house. "Um… yeah, I… I guess you should. I mean I'm not kicking you out or anything but you do look tired" he said disappointment in his voice. Brooke noticed the disappointment because that's what she felt too. She stood up and he followed right behind her. "Yeah… well I guess um…" she said tugging on his grey hoodie while bringing her eyes up to meet his "… I should give these back." She didn't know why this was so awkward. "No… I insist. They look much better on you anyways. Plus, I don't want you to put those wet clothes on again." That was Lucas, always the gentleman. "Okay, I guess if you insist." Brooke said obviously glad he let her keep them on, even though she knew he would.

They started to walk towards the door and when they got there, Lucas opened it up. They both looked outside and saw that it was still pouring, harder than before. They were so wrapped up in each other and their conversation that they completely blocked out the rattling thunder and electric lightning that was going on outside. "Wow… I completely forgot that it was raining" Brooke said staring at the lightning that was currently lighting up the sky. "I know, me too. But Brooke, it's… it's coming down pretty hard out there. I don't want you driving home in this." Lucas was playing the over protective role that he played so well and Brooke was loving every minute of it. "Lucas, first of all, I am perfectly capable of driving in the rain and secondly, I walked here… so you would be the one driving in this, not me" Brooke said with a flirtatious smile spreading across her lips. Lucas tore his eyes away from the lightning and was met with the electricity of Brooke's hazel eyes. 'Two can play this game' Lucas thought. "Oh really?" he said raising his eyebrows. "And when were you planning on telling me about this small detail?" Brooke smiled mischievously back at him. "I just did" she simply stated as though it was obvious. Lucas slightly chuckled and said "Well… I'm not driving in this so either you're walking or you're sleeping here." He was hoping that his last statement wasn't rushing things. He didn't want it to seem like that was his intention. "Well… hope the couch is comfortable then" Brooke said as she walked back over to his bed and climbed under the covers. She snuggled into his pillows and took a deep breath. She missed that smell. Even though she was only gone for less than a day, it felt like a lifetime. "Turn the lights off on your way out will ya?" Brooke knew she was being cruel but she couldn't help herself. The look on Lucas' face was priceless. He was shocked, confused, and amazed all at once. "Lucas… I'm just kidding" Brooke said sitting back up with laughter in her voice.

"No…no, it's fine. I see how it is" Lucas said trying to act hurt and offended. "Shut up Lucas, we both know you're not seriously mad." Lucas just rolled his eyes at her and she started laughing. God he missed her laugh. It was so contagious; you just couldn't help but laugh too, which was exactly what he did. "No Lucas… it's cool. The bed is big enough for two and plus, it's not like we've never slept in the same bed before" Brooke said shrugging her shoulders at him. She wasn't sure if this was the best thing considering she was the one who brought up the whole taking it slow thing. But it was just sleeping right? All she wanted to do was feel his arms around her tightly as she snuggled closer to him while she slept. Was that so wrong?

Lucas looked over at her questioningly. He wanted to make sure that it really was okay with her and she wasn't just saying it but then he thought about who he was talking about. Brooke Davis didn't do anything she didn't want to and he knew that. "Okay… well you ready for bed then?" Lucas asked her. Brooke looked into his baby blue eyes and simply nodded. Tonight she was gonna sleep good for the first time in a long time. Lucas walked over to the bed and sat down. Then he reached up and turned the light off. He crawled under the covers that were warm from Brooke being in the bed already. At first it was sort of awkward because they both weren't sure how they should sleep. Both wanted to be wrapped in each others arms but didn't know what the other wanted. They could still hear the thunder outside and the rain hitting the window. "Night Brooke" Lucas said softly. Brooke looked over at him and whispered "Goodnight Lucas." Just then a crackle of thunder shot through the air and Brooke jumped and turned right into Lucas' arms. "Sorry" she whispered after a minute. Lucas took the smell of her hair in and whispered back "Don't worry about it." After that, the strain of the day finally caught up to both of them… or maybe it was the fact that they were lying next to each other but either way, they fell asleep wrapped up in the others arms and that was exactly where they both wanted to be.

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Okay that was chapter 8... i hope you guys like this story. If you have any suggestions or anything please let me know. I mean this is my first fanfic so I'm kinda winging it here! Anyways... please review and let me know what ya'll are thinking. Thanks guys! -- Charley


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - Curiosity**

8:40 am

Lucas had been up for what seemed like forever just laying there. The sun was leaving the slightest hint of brightness upon Brooke's face as it began to shine through the slightly parted curtains on the now red painted door. Lucas couldn't help but stare at her. He still couldn't believe that everything that happened last night actually happened. He just wanted to lie there all day and stare at her but he knew he couldn't, he had made plans with Skills to go down to the Rivercourt and he needed to be there in 20 minutes.

9:35 am

The feel of the cotton sheets felt so much better that morning then they did any other morning before. Everything had changed last night and they both knew it. Brooke wanted to stay in this moment forever. She was trying to prolong it but she knew she eventually had to open her eyes. What finally convinced her was the thought that after this, things could only get better. She lightly lifted her head and opened her eyes up. She squinted at first from the sunlight streaming through the windows but then adjusted to it like she did every morning. She rolled over to see his face but was met with the dark blue of his pillow case. Her eyes burrowed in confusion as she sat up more and looked around his room. He wasn't there. Brooke was so confused. She thought this is what he wanted. She started to regret coming back here when she saw a small piece of folded paper on the nightstand with her name on it. She smiled when she saw it; she knew he wouldn't leave without saying something. She grabbed it and read:

Hey sleepyhead –

I had to meet Skills at the Rivercourt but I didn't wanna wake you. I'll be back soon.

- Lucas

She was so relieved when she read that that she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Satisfied with where he was, she got out of bed and went into the kitchen for some orange juice. She got her glass and filled it about three – fourth's of the way and headed back to his room. 'Okay, so now I guess I'll just wait' Brooke thought to herself. Then she remembered that she hadn't even told Peyton she was staying there last night and so she decided to call her. Plus, she had to fill her in on everything that went on last night. So she grabbed her purse which as on the floor next to his bed and dialed Peyton's number. It rang three times before she finally heard Peyton's tired, raspy voice on the other end.

"This better be good" was all Peyton said. Brooke wasn't surprised at her best friends answer. That was Peyton for ya!

"Hey best friend, good morning to you too!" Brooke said in the cheeriest voice possible.

Peyton was lying in her bed with her covers pulled up around her. Her blonde curls were a mess and all over the place. She just rolled her eyes at Brooke's cheeriness. "Good morning Brooke. So… you never came home last night. Tell me what happened?" Peyton really was interested to know what went on between her two close friends, especially when Brooke never came home the night before. Brooke couldn't get the stupid grin that had been on her face since she woke up to go away. "Well let me tell you… it was, how should I put it? Perfect! Peyton, I am so glad I came back last night and you should have seen his face when he opened the door! God… it was priceless! We talked about almost everything and then I really was gonna come home but then…" She was completely cut off by Peyton who so excitedly said "You slut! I knew you two would sleep together!" Brooke just started laughing at her friend until she finally said "Peyton… we did not sleep together, we just slept. That's it. And it was all I wanted." Brooke said the last part in a serious tone because that was all she wanted to do last night. Don't get her wrong, any other time with Lucas; she would be all for much, much more but last night… all she wanted to do was lie in his arms. To feel the protectiveness, warmth, and love that radiated off him when his arms were around her, she missed that.

"Brooke… you sound actually happy and I am so glad you two finally came to your senses! It's about time! But I'm guessing since you're calling me that he must not be there? So where is your Prince Charming?" Peyton said curious as to where he would go off to leaving Brooke by herself. "He went down to the Rivercourt with Skills and should be back in a little while." Brooke said as she was pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

"I see… but as happy as I am for you, you did wake me up and now I am going back to bed and you can just give me all the juicy details later." Peyton stifled a yawn as she was just waiting to hang up the phone and go back to sleep. "Haha… okay, I will talk to you later. Bye best friend." "Bye Brooke" and with that, both girls hung up their phones. Brooke really wasn't to sure what to do now. She would have taken a shower but then remembered she didn't have any of her clothes or make up there. Plus, she wasn't ready to get out of Lucas' clothes just yet. She knew she could have just taken anything out of his closet because he wouldn't have cared, but she was already wearing her favorite clothes of his.

She decided to get up and make the bed since she was at a lack of options. While she was making the bed, she thought about just going down to the Rivercourt but decided against it. Once she was done making the bed, she sat on it and just looked around. All of the stuff she had left in his room when it was sort of hers was still up. He hadn't taken anything down, but then again, she was only gone for one day. But she liked to think that maybe he would have left it like that had she not come back. But who knows!

She had been up for almost an hour and there still was no sign of Lucas. Brooke still didn't know what to do but she decided to look for Lucas's iPod. She knew it would be in his room somewhere but she wasn't sure if he would have it or not. She figured the most obvious place to look would be his desk so that's where she started. She couldn't find it though. She looked around a little more and then she thought the nightstand. "Ah – ha!" she said as she found it sitting right on top once she opened the drawer. She pulled it out and then the headphones got caught on something. She yanked on it a little to loosen it but whatever it was stuck on came flying out of the drawer. It fell on the floor and rolled under the bed. She bent down to pick it up but couldn't find it. She kneeled down on the floor, the hood of her sweatshirt falling into place on her head as she bent over, and reached under the bed for whatever fell. She pulled out an empty medicine bottle and raised her eyebrows in curiosity. Reading it over, it was definitely Lucas' since it had his name on it. She wasn't sure what it was though. It didn't say what kind of medicine it was. It looked as though it had been scratched off or rubber off or something. 'Maybe it's for his shoulder' Brooke thought. Just as she was getting up off the floor, bottle still in her hand, Lucas walked through the door.

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Hate to leave you all with a semi-cliff hanger but I'm gonna! Anyways... please review and let me know what you all think! Thanks...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – Figuring It Out**

Lucas froze when he saw her. She yet again looked beautiful in his clothes with her hair pulled back in a ponytail kneeling on his floor. His eyes glanced to what was in her hand and his heart sank. 'Oh god!' was the only thing he could think of. Brooke stood up with her dimpled smile that he loved so much and she walked over to him.

"Well hey… how was basketball?" she asked so casually that he was surprised. "It was… it was, good. Um… me and Skills just played a little one on one. What have you been up to?" He had no idea if she knew or not but from her actions, he guessed not. "Cool. I was just hanging out. I was just looking for your iPod when I found this." She took the bottle in her hand and held it out in front of him. "What are these for?" Brooke said staring at the bottle and then looking back up at him. Lucas stood there for a minute looking in her eyes. He had just got her back and he didn't want to lose her again but he did lose her last time because he lied and he didn't want to lie to her anymore. He couldn't lie to her anymore. Lucas had been holding this secret for so long now he knew it would feel good to get it off his chest but at what cost? But whether he lost her again or not, she needed to know the truth and he had to tell her.

"I think we should sit down" Lucas said as calmly as he could. He knew she was going to freak out and all he could think about was her reaction as they walked over to his bed. Brooke knew something was up from the look in his eye but then even more so when he said they should sit down. She didn't think she was going to like whatever he had to say. They both sat down and she handed him the bottle. He looked at it for a minute before he said anything. "Come on Lucas. This suspense is killing me!" Brooke said. 'Funny…' Lucas thought '…it's killing me too. Literally.' He looked her in the eye and knew it was now or never. "Brooke, remember last year when Dan had his heart attack?" He thought he would take an easy, gentle approach. Brooke just nodded and he continued. "Well he had a Heart Defect and that's what gave him the heart attack. That with a lot of physical activity isn't good for you. So Nathan found out that it was genetic and…" Lucas saw the smile on Brooke's face fade as she was starting to realize just what he was saying. "…that the ratio of those who have it is 2 to 1. He got tested and he didn't have it. So then my mom made me get tested and well…" Lucas held up the bottle and didn't know what to say. Brooke sat there for a minute taking in everything she was just told. Lucas had the heart defect? That couldn't be right. He was Lucas, the strongest person she knew. She had no idea what to say. "So you have… you have the defect?" Lucas nodded his head and Brooke shook her head back and forth. "No Lucas, I need to hear you say it." Brooke was scared. She didn't know what this meant, all the facts. Lucas looked at her with sad eyes and simply replied "Yes Brooke, I have the genetic defect." Lucas said it in a small voice that Brooke had never heard before. "How long have you known? Because I could have sworn that your mom told me about this and she said that you didn't have it. Were you tested again? Was there a mix up? What?" Lucas didn't know how to explain this one to her. "No… I wasn't tested again Brooke, my mom doesn't know that I have it." He knew she was gonna be mad now. If she wasn't yet, this was gonna do it.

Brooke had such a confused questioning look on her face. Nothing was making sense right now. Was he really telling her all this? "What do you mean she doesn't know? This is a huge thing Lucas, your mom has to know." "I… I lied to my mom about the results." When he said that, he saw the flames burn in her eyes. 'This is it' he thought. "You lied to your mom about this? What is wrong with you?" Brooke was yelling at this point and she didn't care. What the hell was he thinking? "How long have you known you have a heart disease Lucas? How long have you been lying to her? Is she the only one who doesn't know, well besides me?" She had so many questions and she was worried and mad as hell and scared to death all at once. "I've known since after the formal that I have it. And no… my mom isn't the only one who doesn't know. Only me and… and Dan know about it. And now you." Lucas knew this was all so much for her to take in right now but he had to tell her all of it.

"Wait… Dan is the only one who you told? What the hell Lucas? You told Dan!" Brooke was steaming right now. She couldn't believe all that he was telling her. "I had to tell Dan. He was paying for my medication." Even though Brooke was mad at him right now, she heard loud and clear when he said 'was' paying. "What do you mean 'was paying'?" "He stopped paying for them when I started trying to find something on him to bring him down. He said he was testing me and I failed his test so he's not going to pay for them anymore." He still had no idea how he was going to afford his medication but he would figure it out somehow. He had to. A look of clarity hit Brooke's face. "That's why you were living with him. I knew there was more to it then what he had on Keith." Lucas just nodded at her comment. Brooke was starting to figure it all out in her head; it was all starting to make sense now. Her mind was turning a mile a minute and then she remembered what he said earlier. "You said physical activity could cause you to have a heart attack? Then why the hell were you playing basketball this morning Lucas? Are you trying to kill yourself?" She had a look of disbelief on her flawless face. She was so confused and disappointed that he kept this from her and everyone else. Lucas didn't say anything for a minute. He just sat there thinking of how he could explain this to her. Brooke sat there next to him with her arms crossed and a 'mad as hell, I'm waiting for an explanation' look on her face. Lucas finally looked up and saw the glare on her face and decided he better say something now. "Brooke… I don't want to live my life scared all the time." He decided to tell her something that he hadn't told anybody since the accident. "Brooke when I almost died in the car accident last year, I promised myself I wasn't going to live my life like it was over. I don't want to know what I'm gonna do next month or what my job is gonna be in the future or how many kids I'm gonna have. And I sure as hell don't want to know when I'm gonna die." He was looking her straight in the eye pleading with her to understand. When he said the word 'die' Brooke got a queasy feeling in her stomach, she didn't even want to think about it. "I know you probably don't understand this and I don't expect you to but I do want you to understand why I did it. I mean… finding out I have to live my life in moderation and never being able to play basketball again, god Brooke, I can't even begin to tell you what that feels like."

Brooke was trying to understand, for his sake and her own. She wanted to understand why he didn't tell anyone but she was still having a hard time understanding it. "Try explaining it to me" Brooke said as she looked Lucas square in the eye. Lucas glanced up at her admiring her ability to know exactly what to say. "It's hard to explain I guess. But basically…" Lucas took a deep breath before continuing "…basketball is the only thing I am really good at that I can control. Dan didn't have any thing to do with it, well besides the genes I guess, but he didn't control me when I was on the court. Since I was little, it has been my escape from reality. It's what I use to relieve stress, I play when I need to think, when I have a problem; it takes it away for a short time. I play when I need to forget, I mean… I live to play and the thought of never playing again isn't comprehendible to me. I'm not sure how else I can explain it." Lucas finished in a voice just above a whisper. He looked over at Brooke for the first time since he started talking and he was surprised at what he saw. He saw tears in the usually sparkling hazel eyes he grew to know so well.

"Brooke, why are you crying?" Lucas moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He wasn't sure if she was crying because she was upset with him or if she was confused or sad or what. He just waited for her to stop crying and talk to him when she was ready. Finally her tears subsided and she looked up at him with watery eyes. "Lucas… how could you hold all that in and not tell anyone? If it was me, there is no way I could handle this on my own. I mean, are you scared? Does it hurt? I mean…" Brooke wasn't sure what to say. She was never any good at situations like this. Lucas looked into her eyes and saw the pain and worry that she was trying to hide but it was useless. He could see everything in her eyes. "Truthfully, I'm scared to death." Lucas was trying to make the situation lighter but the look on Brooke face showed that his comment didn't help. "That's not funny Lucas. This isn't a joke" Brooke said in the most serious of tones. "Sorry… I was trying to lighten the mood. But honestly, yea I'm scared. I mean how could I not be. I have no idea what's gonna happen or even when." "Well does it hurt?" Brooke asked and as she did, she put her hand on his heart and just held it there. She could feel his heartbeat and more tears started to fill her eyes. Lucas saw this and put his hand on top of hers. "Hey… it's okay. It only hurts sometimes, like when I'm playing too hard or something like that." She tried to smile at him but her heart wasn't in it. Lucas could tell and he squeezed her hand. "Hey… do you feel that? My heart is beating perfectly fine." Brooke just sat there with her hand on his heart and looked in his eyes. "I'm scared for you Lucas" was all she could say.

They sat there like that for a long time. Neither had moved in what seemed like forever. Brooke didn't want to move for fear that Lucas would somehow disappear and she wouldn't be able to get him back. She had so many thoughts running through her mind and she just wanted to tune everything out and focus on the guy sitting in front of her. Before she knew it, it was already starting to get dark outside. Brooke looked up at Lucas and silently tried to figure out what was going through his mind. "Lucas?" she whispered. He looked over at her and simply said "yea?" She looked all over his perfectly proportional face and smiled at him. He was literally a beautiful person. Inside and god knows outside. "Would you mind if we just lie down for a while?" She wasn't sure why she was embarrassed to ask. Lucas just smiled slightly and nodded his head. They scooted back on the bed and both lay down. Once Lucas was situated, Brooke scooted just a little down and put her head on his chest. She moved around a little until her ear was perfectly aligned with his heart and she could hear every beat. Lucas just took in the smell of her hair and for once was at ease with himself. He knew they still had to talk about his meds and everything that went with it. But he knew that would come tomorrow. For now, he was just glad he didn't have to carry this around on his back by himself anymore. Now… he had Brooke and that was all he needed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys... sorry it took so long to get this update out. I wanted to give you something before I go on vacation. Just for a week so I will update as soon as I get back! I hope you guys like it... I am also thinking of starting a new one too, I'm not sure when it will be posted, I am still working on the story outline so bare with me. Anyways... thanks for your reviews and please keep them coming!Here's chapter 11...**

**Chapter 11 - Fireworks**

Brooke's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room. It was now completely dark outside and she looked over at the clock. It read 8:13 pm. She was perfectly content where she was. She didn't want to move. Lucas had his right arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the other resting on his stomach. And best of all, she could still hear his heart beating. He was still sleeping soundly and she didn't want to wake him.

She laid there for another 10 minutes and then she had to go to the bathroom really bad and she couldn't hold it anymore. She very sneakily snaked her way out of his grasp and tried her best to easily get off the bed. After she went to the bathroom, she came out and found Lucas still asleep. She sat down on his desk chair and just watched him.

Now that his hair was starting to grow back, it was all over the place from lying on the pillow, his eyes were slightly fluttering which meant he was probably dreaming, he had a small little smile tugging at his lips, and he just looked so peaceful. Brooke almost got tears in her eyes again but she decided she had done enough crying for one day. How could he have something wrong with his heart? He had the best heart of anyone she knew, well besides when he cheated on her. He was kind, caring, gentle, loving, and so much more. He put other people above himself and cared about his friends so much. Why did he have to be the one with the HCM? 'God… of all the things Dan could have given him, it had to be a disease!' Brooke thought to herself. How could he not tell anyone? She would have gone crazy not having anyone to talk to or confide in. She wouldn't have been strong enough to keep that all in. But Lucas… Lucas was strong enough.

Lucas slowly opened his eyes because he noticed he was alone in the bed. He didn't even have to move before he saw Brooke sitting in his desk chair. She was deep in thought he could tell because she always bit her lip when she was thinking.

"Hey" he said in a sleepy, groggy, extremely sexy voice. Brooke was brought back to reality when she heard him speak. She looked over at him and smiled a little and said "Hey you." Lucas motioned his head for her to come back over to the bed as he said "Come here."

She slowly got up and walked back over to the bed and sat next to him. She got back under the covers and looked back over at him shyly. He put his hand on her cheek and caressed it. Her eyes fluttered a little and she kept her eyes locked on his. They both wanted to feel the others lips on their own but they weren't sure if they should. Lucas wanted so badly to kiss the beauty sitting before him but he didn't know how she would react. But he figured, why not? So he went for it. He leaned in and to his surprise Brooke also leaned in. Their lips met and it was like fireworks going off. It was a slow, sweet, and most of all passionate kiss. It was the kind of kiss you only see in movies but this wasn't a movie. This was real life for both Lucas and Brooke.

Lucas was the first to pull back and when he did he just stared at Brooke. She still had her eyes closed and was simply breathing in the moment. Lucas made her feel things she had never felt before. Brooke had been with many other guys before, but not one of them ever came close to making her feel the way Lucas did when they were together. She opened her eyes and was met with the cool blue ones of the boy in font of her. Lucas still had his hand on her cheek and he was slightly rubbing the softness of her skin.

Lucas finally broke the silence and staring contest that was going on between them when he said "I've been waiting all day to do that." Brooke tilted her head to the side and a dimpled smile fell across her lips. "It's about time" she simply stated. They then fell back into the comfortable silence that only they could be comfortable in.

Their silence was broken by the soft ringing of Brooke's cell phone. They both turned their heads in the direction the sound was coming from and Brooke said as she slowly got up off the bed, "Sorry, I should probably get that."

She knew Lucas would be watching her so she decided to have a little fun with him. She made her way towards her bag which was sitting on the floor next to Lucas' desk very slowly making sure to swing her hips. Once she reached her bag, she slowly, teasingly bent down to get her phone. She took her time looking for it even though she could see it sitting right on top. All the while, Lucas was of course watching Brooke's every move. He knew she was teasing him and he didn't care. This was Brooke Davis we were talking about; he could watch her all day.

Brooke finally grabbed her phone and turned around to face Lucas with a smile brightly shining across her face. She hit the 'talk' button without even looking at the caller ID. "Hello" she said into the phone in her cheeriest of voices. She started walking back towards the bed but stopped half way there with a frown replacing the beautiful smile that was there just moments ago. Lucas just looked on with curiosity written all over his face.

"You weren't even there. I had no where to go" Brooke stated. Lucas figured she must have been talking to either her mom or her dad because she was using the voice she reserved for only her parents. "You didn't even tell me the address of the new house so I couldn't even take a cab."

Brooke was now yelling into her phone with her one hand resting on her hip. Lucas couldn't understand how her parents couldn't see the special, unique person that their daughter was. "I know what it would have been like. You and dad wouldn't have been there all summer; it would have been just me by myself while all of my friends are here in Tree Hill." Brooke glanced over at Lucas and saw him still looking at her. "You know what, why should I even come back to California where I'll be ignored when I can stay here with people who want me here and who I wanna be with?" Brooke made sure she was looking directly into Lucas' eyes as she said that. "I don't even care. Have a good summer mom" and with that Brooke turned off her phone.

She walked back over to her bag and set her phone on top. "That went well" Brooke said as she turned around to face Lucas, tears in her eyes. Lucas stood up and walked towards the broken girl standing in front of him. He opened his arms and without anything being said Brooke walked straight to him and he engulfed her in a protective hug. She had tears falling slowly down her cheeks until they reached the soft white cotton of Lucas' shirt.

Lucas was smoothing Brooke's hair with one hand and rubbing small, comforting circles on her back with the other. After about 5 minutes of just standing there, Brooke pulled back out of their hug and laughed a little at herself. "Sorry I'm such a mess. You'd think that I would get used to this from my parents after all these years. I guess I should just expect it!" she said as she wiped under her eyes.

Lucas just looked at her for a minute before he said "Hey, you shouldn't have to expect this from your parents. I sort of know how you feel though. I mean every time Dan tells me I'm nothing to him, you'd think I'd be used to hearing it by now but it still hurts all the same." Brooke just looked at him and wondered what she did to ever deserve him.

"Sorry about your shirt" Brooke said as she put her hand on where there was a wet mark on Lucas' shirt. "Don't worry about it. Do you wanna talk about it?" Lucas asked as they made there way back towards the bed to sit down. Brooke shrugged her shoulders a little as she said "Not much to say, I mean she said I was being disrespectful to her and my dad by not coming back, she said I was acting selfish and like a spoiled brat, and I guess that's the gist of it." Brooke was looking off into space as Lucas was rubbing her back.

"Brooke, don't let them get to you, they have no idea how much you've changed this year or the person you are becoming. They are the ones who are missing out on knowing and loving you and I feel sorry for them. Don't let them bring you down." Brooke just stared at Lucas with tears welling up in her eyes. "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" Brooke asked as she stifled back a little laugh.

Lucas just shrugged his shoulders and simply said "I just… I know I would be missing out if I didn't have you in my life so…" Brooke just looked on at him in amazement. God, if she wasn't already in love with him, she would have been after his last comment. She couldn't help it; she leaned in and placed a soft, gentle kiss on Lucas' lips. He wasn't expecting it but wasn't about to complain. Brooke pulled back and looked in his eyes and whispered "Thank you."

**Okay... thats it for now, likeI said I will try to update as soon as I get back. Please let me know what your guys thought or if you have any suggestions. Thanks - Charley**


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the delay... I hate school! It just creates stress and makes you really busy! Anyways... here is a quick update. Nothing exciting, just something to pass the time for you guys. Sorry if it sucks... I wrote it real quick yesterday but couldn't post till today. Anyways... let me know your thoughts on it. Thanks!

Chapter 12 - Pure and Simple

After everything had seemed to calm down a bit, Brooke's stomach started to grumble so she and Lucas headed out to the kitchen to get something to eat. "So… what are we having? Chicken? Hamburgers? Pasta?" Brooke asked as she casually sat down on one of the chairs seated around the kitchen table and made herself comfortable.

Lucas turned his head to the side somewhat to get a better look at her as he said "Well, any of that would certainly taste good right now. So are you making it?" Lucas knew that Brooke had no intention of cooking anything and she expected him to do it but he thought he would mess with her a little cause she just looked so damn cute when she got flustered. Brooke looked up from the book she was looking at on the table with one eyebrow raised. "Am I making it? Are you serious?"

"Well its not going to make itself you know! You should probably get started, I am really hungry." Lucas knew he was playing with fire but he would risk getting burned just to see her reaction. Brooke couldn't believe Lucas right now. If he actually expected her to make anything, let alone chicken or pasta, he was sadly mistaken!

"Oh, is that so…" Brooke was mad now. If he thought she was just going to magically turn into Martha Stewart he was going to be rudely awakened. She got up from her seat effortlessly and casually made her way further into the kitchen. Lucas didn't even glance up at her for fear that she would see him laughing. Brooke grabbed something out of one of the cabinets and made her way closer to where Lucas was sitting. "Well I guess since it won't be making itself, I should start somewhere…" Brooke said as she got even closer to Lucas' seat. "Hey Lucas…" Lucas looked up just in time to see a cloud of white powder hit him perfectly in the face. His eyes were closed now but he could hear Brooke laughing hysterically in the background. He blew some of the powder off his face and used his hand to try to wipe some of it away. He opened his eyes to see Brooke's shining with mischief. "Flour, Brooke?"

Brooke couldn't keep a straight face as she tried to look at Lucas. He looked so cute with flour all over his face and the surprised look he was wearing. "Hey… I had to start somewhere, right?" Lucas cocked a grin on his face as he stood up and walked over to the sink. He grabbed the kitchen towel in one hand and then turned on the water with the other. He glanced back at Brooke to see she wasn't watching. He quickly grabbed a handful of flour out of the bag that sit on the counter. He walked back over to Brooke and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and Lucas held up his hand and raised an eyebrow at Brooke. She looked at his hand and said "You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I" was all Lucas got out before he threw the handful at her sending flour all over her face, hair, and down on her shirt. Brooke was surprised to say the least. "Oh, it's so on now!" Brooke squealed as they both went lunging for more flour.

An hour later, Karen's kitchen looked as though a bomb had gone off. There was flour, sugar, baking soda, whipped cream, and so much more covering every inch of her kitchen as well as the two teens that had created the mess. Lucas and Brooke were equally covered in all sorts of baking ingredients. They were sitting on the floor, leaning against the cabinets laughing at one another.

"You should see what you look like!" Brooke tried to get out between her laughter.

"Me? You have flour all over your hair!" Lucas said gasping for breath while he held his side from laughing so hard. Their eyes locked as they both shared a shy smile. 'God, even covered in flour this girl is the most beautiful woman in the world' Lucas thought to himself. As if reading his mind, Brooke glanced away trying to hide the redness that had creeped onto her cheeks. Lucas reached his hand out and gently forced her head to turn back towards his.

Again their eyes locked and they both shared a smile. Lucas still had his hand on her cheek and began caressing it with his thumb. Brooke continued to smile for she knew what was coming next. As if on cue, Lucas leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. The feel of his lips on hers sent shivers down her spine. This kiss was unlike the others they had shared since she got there the night before. This kiss was full of passion and hunger. Lucas caressed his lips with hers. Finding courage within himself he deepened the kiss. Wanting to taste her, he gently swiped his tongue against her bottom lip. She could barely contain her anticipation as she felt his tongue on her lip. She slowly opened her mouth and felt the pure pleasure of Lucas' kiss. She had definitely missed this.

There the two sat on the kitchen floor, covered in numerous baking ingredients from the cupboards above and they couldn't have been happier. Their tongues continued to explore the others mouth, Lucas had one hand on Brooke's cheek softly rubbing circles with his thumb and the other hand had found its way into her hair. Brooke had one hand gently holding on to the back of his neck while the other clutched the soft material of Lucas's shirt.

Brooke felt herself smile against Lucas's lips and so did he. As if reading each others minds, they both pulled back at the same time. Both had a content, genuinely happy smile on their faces that they couldn't seem to get rid of. They just sat in silence, intently looking into each others eyes, both filled with what could only be comprehended as love, pure and simple.

"I really missed you Pretty Girl" Lucas said breaking the silence that lay between them. If it was even possible, Brooke managed to smile even more. Brooke teasingly laughed and said "I was only gone a day!" Lucas looked in her eyes and stated with all of his heart "I've missed you since the day we broke up."

Brooke wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't know if she should say 'me too' or maybe 'well maybe we wouldn't have broken up if you hadn't cheated on me' but then she looked into the piercing eyes of the boy sitting next to her, covered in flour. She had forgiven him a long time ago for everything that had happened and she knew exactly what he meant with the comment he had just made.

She reached her hand forward and interlaced her fingers with his and brought his hand up to her soft lips and kissed it sweetly. "I'm not going anywhere" was all she said. That was enough for both of them. They both knew this time would be different. They were two people who, even with all their flaws and mistakes, were deeply and genuinely in love with each other.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Steamed Notes

Once their flour throwing antics had concluded and they had cleaned up, they finally made something to eat; Grilled cheese, Brooke's favorite. After they had eaten, all the while talking and flirting back and forth, they both needed to get cleaned up.

Brooke took a shower in Lucas's bathroom while Lucas took one in his mom's room. Predictably, Lucas was done first and wanted to throw the clothes they had demolished in their food fight into the washer however, he needed to get her clothes which were currently in the bathroom; the same bathroom that was being occupied at the moment by Brooke who was taking a shower.

Lucas wasn't sure what to do exactly, should he just walk in? Knock? Or wait until she got out. He decided that if the roles were reversed, Brooke would probably just walk in. But Lucas was a little more subtle then Brooke so he decided to knock.

He walked up to the wooden door and put his hand up to knock but stopped just short of the door. Inside, he could hear Brooke singing. He had never really heard her sing before, other then in the car along with the radio but this wasn't the same. She was singing the song 'I'll Be' by Edwin McCain and she sounded great. Whether it was the acoustic in the bathroom or if it was just her voice, she sounded like she had been singing all her life. Lucas just stood there, yet again amazed by Brooke Davis. He found that happening a lot lately. She was something special and he knew it. He was just glad she gave him another chance, a chance that he was not going to screw up.

He listened to every word as she sang. The lyrics seemed to fit them perfectly. What she was singing was everything he felt inside himself for the girl behind the red door.

_Rain falls angry on the tin roof_

_As we lie awake in my bed_

_You're My Survival, You're My Living Proof_

_My love is alive and not dead_

_Tell me that we belong together_

_Dress it up with the trappings of love_

_I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

_I'll Be your cryin' shoulder_

_I'll Be love suicide_

_I'll Be better when I'm older_

_I'll Be the greatest fan of your life_

Brooke couldn't get this song out of her head. She had heard it on the radio in the cab on her ride back to Tree Hill from the airport. It had ended just as she had reached Peyton's house when she dropped her stuff off. Ever since then, the words had been replaying themselves over and over again in her head.

Everything she felt for Lucas was captured in this one song. It was perfect and she just couldn't help herself as the words took over her body and she started singing while she tried her hardest to get flour and whip cream out of her hair. She always sang in the shower but never in front of people, at least on her own. If there was music playing and she was singing along, well then that was a different story.

She was right in the middle of the chorus of the song when she heard a knock on the door. She stopped right where she was and immediately felt embarrassed. As stupid as it sounds, she knew it was Lucas and she felt a flutter in her stomach. She was still getting used to the feeling again, she had definitely missed it.

"Um… come in" Brooke yelled out to Lucas who was waiting outside the door. The door knob turned and in stepped Lucas. He could barely see anything for the fact that Brooke had the water so hot there was steam everywhere. The mirror was impossible to see anything in and steam whirled around in the air. Brooke was waiting to see what Lucas wanted but he wasn't saying anything.

She wasn't even sure if he was in there anymore. She peeked her head out around the curtain making sure to fully cover her body; they were taking it slow after all. She looked a round a little trying to find Lucas and finally saw him writing something on the mirror with his finger. She couldn't make out what it said so she said his name. He quickly turned around and caught his breath.

She looked perfect with her hair completely wet, water droplets dripping down her face and wearing no make up what so ever. This was how he liked her best, when he could see all of her, not the make up she hid behind. He quickly recovered from his staring and said "Hey… I was just gonna throw our clothes in the laundry so I came to get yours."

"Oh well thanks. They're right over there by the hamper." Brooke said pointing to where her clothes sat on top of the closed hamper. "Ok… well I'm gonna go throw these in. Do you wanna watch a movie or something when you get out?" Lucas asked. "Oh well, yeah that sounds good. I should be done here in a minute but do you think we could maybe invite Peyton over cause I feel kinda bad that I have pretty much ditched her since I got back, with good reason, but I still feel kinda bad ya know?"

Brooke wasn't sure if she should have said that or not cause she was having such a good time with it being just her and Lucas but she did feel bad. "Yeah that would be cool. Okay, well finish up and I'll just be out here." Lucas said before closing the door taking her clothes with him.

Brooke finished up with her shower about five minutes later and got out. As she stood in front of the mirror brushing through her hair, she began to be able to make out what Lucas had quickly written. She could do nothing but smile when she saw what he wrote. There in his boyish, scratchy hand writing, he had written: 'Your voice is beautiful Pretty Girl' and nothing else. That was what she loved most about him. The way he made her feel so special without even trying. That was just Lucas for ya, ever the romantic and he doesn't even know it.

Brooke got dressed, in Lucas' clothes yet again, but neither of them minded, and found her way out into the living room where Lucas was already sitting on the couch watching something on ESPN. 'Of course' Brooke thought with a knowing smile.

"I should have guessed I would find you out here watching something on this stupid channel" Brooke said as she sat down next to him. Not right next to him so their bodies were touching but not all the way on the other side of the couch either. Lucas looked up from the tv and simply said matter of factly "This…" pointing to the television program "… is not stupid." Brooke also looked away from the tv up to Lucas and said "It may not be to you, but to me, it is." All the while both had smiles on their faces.

"Ok… you wanna talk about stupid, how about that show you used to watch all the time, what was it called again, Full House or something." Brooke just looked at Lucas appalled and gasped. "Ahh… Full House is not stupid, its classic" she said turning to look back at the tv. Lucas just chuckled at her. "Ok, whatever you say. So did you call Peyton yet?"

"No I was just going to do that now actually, I'll be right back." Brooke then got up from the couch and walked back into Lucas' room. She grabbed her phone and sat down on the bed and dialed the number she had known by heart for years.

"Hey slut, you guys do it yet?" was the first thing Brooke heard after two short rings. She simply laughed to herself and then said "Hey to you too P. Sawyer and I thought I told you yesterday that we were taking it slow."

"Well, two days for you is kinda slow isn't it?" Peyton said laughing. Brooke just rolled her eyes and said "Anyways… I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over here and watch a movie with me and Lucas?" Peyton got serious and said "I don't want to ruin whatever it is you two have going on over there or anything…" and then she was cut off by Brooke.

"Sawyer, you know if I didn't want you here we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, so shut up, get dressed, bring some popcorn or something, and get your ass over here, got it?" Brooke said all in one long breath. Peyton just laughed at her friend and said, "Ok, I'll be there in 15 minutes." And with that both girls hung up their phones.

Brooke strode back out into the living room and again found Lucas, eyes glued to the tv screen. "Peyton said she would be here in like 15 minutes. Are you sure this is cool with you, I mean, I don't want to ruin the time we've been having together…" but this time Brooke was cut off by Lucas who put a finger to her lips.

"Cheery, its fine. I guess I have to share you at some point right?" Lucas said with a little shrug of his shoulders. Brooke just looked into his eyes and smiled. "You're something else, you know that?" was the only thing she could think to say. Lucas again just shrugged, smiled and replied with "So I've been told."

Brooke, feeling the moment, and everything that had happened in the last two days could feel something building inside of her. Everything Lucas had said and was still saying was probably the nicest, sweetest and most genuine things that anyone had ever said to her. She loved him, for many reasons but mainly for the way he made her feel not only about others but most importantly, about herself. She felt good about herself when she was with him and that was something she was still getting used to.

Staring into the eyes of the boy sitting in front of her, she grew courage. So, she stood up, all the while Lucas paying very close attention to her every move and walked so she was standing in front of him. In one swift motion, she was straddling his lap as he still sat on the couch. Lucas instinctively gripped her hips, his fingers resting on the softness of her skin and looked into her eyes, looking for some sort of answer or explanation for her bold actions.

Her hands unconsciously went, one to the side of his neck, her thumb resting on his jaw line and the other holding onto his shoulder. She looked into his eyes and saw the questioning stares coming from him. She slowly bent down and kissed his lips lightly and pulled back to look into his eyes again. "I just figured that even though we were taking this slow, what's the harm in kissing, right?"

Lucas looked at the girl sitting on his lap and could only look on in adoration. He was ridiculously, 100 in love with the girl in front of him. "Well, I don't want you to feel pressured about anything. We can take this as slow as you want, you're calling all the shots on this one." Brooke fell even harder for him in that moment. "Well if I'm calling all the shots…" Brooke raised her eyebrows suggestively "… I say we get to kiss as much as we want. We'll work on the other stuff later. Plus, if I have to hold back from kissing you, I just might go crazy!" Lucas just chuckled a little at her and said genuinely in a soft voice "You already are crazy, pretty girl." And with that, he leaned in and kissed her with everything he had in him.

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Okay... sorry for how short this one is! I promise there are longer ones coming up soon! Please just stick with me. Please review... they mean a lot to me, even if its just to yell at me to update, it just shows me that people are actually reading this story. So thanks again...

Charley


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Being Loved

Peyton walked up the steps onto Lucas' front porch and stopped just short of the door. 'Hell, we've been through a lot together, I think I'm friend enough that I don't have to knock anymore' and with that she turned the handle and just walked in. The house was pretty much dark, the only light she could see was a soft light that came from the kitchen. As she walked deeper into the house, she could see a light coming from the living room, guessing it was them watching tv. She walked over toward the light and stopped in the entry way before making her way all the way in. There on the couch were Lucas and Brooke, both completely unaware that the tv was still on let alone that she was standing there watching them. Brooke sat, straddling Lucas's lap both with their hands roaming over the others body completely lost in one another as they continued to kiss. 'Taking it slow my ass' Peyton thought.

Peyton walked further into the room and cleared her throat at which both Lucas and Brooke broke apart completely embarrassed and unaware they had an audience. "So still taking it slow?" Peyton asked with a huge smile on her face. Brooke scooted off of Lucas' lap and onto the couch so she was sitting next to him rather then on top of him. "Peyton, I didn't hear you knock" Brooke said obviously embarrassed they had been caught, even though it wasn't the first time and it most certainly wouldn't be the last. "Yea well I figured we were good enough friends that I didn't need to knock, I won't be making that mistake again" she said with a smile creeping onto her lips.

"Well we were just… uh, we were just…" Brooke said trying to explain as she looked back and forth between Peyton and Lucas looking for some help from him. "I know what you were doing and it's cool. It's good to see you both smiling again" Peyton said genuinely. Lucas just looked at Brooke and they both smiled shyly at each other and Peyton which caused her to laugh. "Okay, shy doesn't suit you Brooke, Lucas you can pull it off, but Brooke, we both know this isn't the last time I will catch you two making out!" This caused them all to start laughing because they knew it was true.

After that, they all sat down and started to watch the movie that Peyton had brought over with her. Peyton was sitting on one end of the couch, while Lucas sat on the other side, and Brooke sat between the two. About twenty minutes into the movie, Lucas' hand found its way to Brooke's and they interlaced their fingers together. Peyton just sat and watched on as her two friends had finally found happiness in each other again. By the end of the movie, Lucas was casually whispering sweet nothings into Brooke's ear causing her to giggle and Peyton to roll her eyes in mock disgust. Peyton could see the love between the two and she was just glad they finally worked everything out.

Once the movie was over, Lucas got up and turned it off and then asked the girls if they wanted anything from the kitchen. They both asked for water and so Lucas left to go use the bathroom and get the girls their drinks. Peyton thought this would be the perfect time to interrogate Brooke on just what exactly was going on when she walked into the living room. "So you little skank, I thought you said you were taking it slow. It looked anything but slow when I walked in on you two!" Peyton said emphasizing the word 'slow' once she was sure Lucas was out of ear shot. Brooke looked over from where she was sitting with a smirk on her face. "I have no idea what you mean, P. Sawyer" said Brooke disbelievingly. Peyton just rolled her eyes at her best friend and said in a more serious tone "Brooke, we are best friends, what's going on?" Brooke couldn't remove the smile from her face as she thought about all that had happened in the past two days. "Seriously Peyt, what you walked in on was just us kissing. We really are taking it slow. I have to in order to make sure he really is serious this time. I think he is, I mean, I can see it in his eyes but I just have to make sure, ya know? I just can't get hurt like that again. But…" Brooke got a devious smile on her face, "…just because we are taking it slow doesn't mean we can't kiss. It's just kissing! Plus, I know that he doesn't expect anything more then that and that is probably the second best feeling in the world to me" Brooke finished saying with a smile on her face. "The second best? Well, what's the first?" Peyton asked with her eyebrows burrowed in confusion. Brooke looked up and turned her head towards the kitchen where she could hear Lucas getting their water and she just watched him, how his face just looked at peace, how his eyes opened wide as he spilled a little water on the counter and then how he quickly cleaned it up. She got lost just looking at him, the affect this boy had on her was amazing. Peyton could tell she had lost Brooke from the look in her eyes so she cleared her throat to get her attention again. Brooke shook her head and looked back over at Peyton. "You never answered me. So what's the best feeling in the world?" Brooke just looked at Peyton and a small smile spread across her face as she simply said "Being loved." That was all she had to say.


	15. Chapter 15

I am so sorry it has taken so long to get Chpt. 14 and 15 up but I also posted a song fic that I just couldn't get out of my head! Anyways... as always, reviews are very much appreciated! I hope you like this chapter and the next one will be up sometime this week. Thanks guys!

**Chapter 15 – Pillow Talk**

After talking all together for a little while, Peyton decided it was time to head home since she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She looked over at Brooke and Lucas who just looked so happy to be in the presence of the other. She almost felt bad breaking the comfortable silence that they had all fallen into.

"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna head home cause if I don't, I'm gonna pass out right here on the couch!" Brooke and Lucas, who were sitting right next to each other, hands intertwined together, both looked up at Peyton. Peyton sat up and stretched and proceeded to get up off the couch. She wasn't sure whether Brooke was coming with her or if she was gonna stay at Lucas' house again tonight.

"So... are you coming back with me Brooke?"

Brooke slowly turned her head to look at Lucas and then turned her attention back towards Peyton.

"Um... I guess I really hadn't thought about that." Brooke wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Yeah she had originally planned on staying with Peyton but that was before her and Lucas were, well... her and Lucas again. Now she knew she _wanted_ to stay with Lucas, cause I mean who wouldn't. But she had totally been neglecting Peyton since she got back and she felt bad for it.

"Um... well yea, I mean I guess I'll come with you Peyton since all my stuff is at your house and I really haven't gotten to catch up with you since I've been home. So okay... I guess, I guess lets go." Brooke reluctantly got up and released Lucas' hand. Lucas didn't want Brooke to go. He had gotten used to her being there and he didn't want her to go away again. He didn't want to be alone again.

"Okay... well I will meet you outside Brooke, Lucas, I will see ya later. Bye" Peyton said and with that she went through the front door. Brooke shyly looked up into Lucas' piercing blue eyes and said "I hope you don't mind, it's just with my stuff at Peyton's and the fact that I haven't been there since I got home and I also haven't gotten to catch up with Peyt..." Brooke was silenced by Lucas gently placing his finger against her pouting lips.

"Brooke, you don't have to explain. It's perfectly fine and understandable that you wanna spend some time with Peyton."

Brooke gave a soft smile and grabbed one of Lucas' hands in hers and gently placed a loving kiss on his knuckles. "I know, I just really don't wanna leave you." Brooke said as she slowly brought Lucas' hand back down to her side as she laced their fingers together. She wasn't sure if she should have said that but it was the truth. Yes she wanted to spend time with Peyton but she knew that she was gonna be thinking about Lucas all night and she was probably gonna have her head up in the clouds the whole time.

"I don't want you to leave either but you should spend some time with Peyton, talk about… whatever it is that you guys talk about." Brooke had to laugh at Lucas' lack of girl knowledge, didn't he know that all they were gonna talk about was him? "Besides, we can get together tomorrow or something. How about that?" Lucas said as he moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Brooke smiled up at him with her dimples showing and nodded her head, "That sounds perfect. So I will call you tomorrow after I get up, don't worry, it won't be too early." Lucas chuckled a little as he heard this because he was well aware of Brooke's sleeping habits. "Okay, I guess I will talk to you then. I can't wait." He stated as they made their way to the front door so Brooke could go meet Peyton.

Lucas was rubbing small circles on her hand with his thumb and it drove Brooke crazy. Just the feel of his hand in hers sent shivers up her spine. She reached her other hand up to his cheek and ever so lightly rubbed his jaw line with her thumb. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then Broody" Brooke said in a soft and gentle voice. "I'll see you in my dreams Pretty Girl" Lucas said in a whisper as he leaned closer and captured her lips with his own. It was gentle, sweet, but most of all filled with passion. It was the perfect kiss.

They broke apart and just stared in to each others eyes for a minute. Finally Lucas broke the comfortable silence and said "Have a good night." Brooke responded with another quick kiss on the lips, squeezed his hand and with a "see ya tomorrow" Brooke was out the door and jumping into Peyton's car.

Once back in the house, Lucas cleaned up the living room, took a quick shower and made his way to his bedroom. He put on a pair of pajama pants, took his shirt off and grabbed his book off the desk. The minute his head hit the pillow his instantly smiled. The smell of Brooke filled the air around him. His pillow held her scent, his sheets, everything around him. He continued smiling all the while reading his book.

Over at Peyton's house, they had just gotten inside and made it up the stairs. "Okay girly, change into your pajamas and meet me in my room in five minutes, got it?" Brooke couldn't help but laugh at her friends comment. "P. Sawyer, since when are you one for juice and gossip?" Peyton just rolled her eyes at Brooke and stated "Since my two best friends are obviously in love, now scoot!" And with that Peyton was down the hall and in her room. Brooke just smiled at her comment and made her way to put her pajamas on.

Once they were both changed and in their comfy pajamas, they were both sitting on Peyton's bed. Peyton was propped up against the head board with pillows behind her and Brooke was lying on her stomach facing towards Peyton propped up on her elbows. Each of the girls had pulled their hair up, Peyton's in a ponytail and Brooke's in a messy bun. While Brooke was still changing, Peyton had gone down to the kitchen and gotten the 'girl talk' essentials. She grabbed two Dr. Peppers out of the fridge, a bag of Doritos's potato chips, and a thing of chocolate chip cookie dough and of course two spoons. Peyton was snacking on the chips while Brooke dug into the cookie dough.

"Okay, now that we are in our pajamas, hair pulled up, and have the essential gossiping snacks, spill!" Peyton excitedly spoke. Brooke just laughed at her giddiness and said "Well what exactly do you wanna know?"

"Are you serious Brooke! First of all, this is the longest I have spoken to you in almost two days, two days might I add that you spent at Lucas Scott's house, second, I haven't seen you smile this much in god knows how long, and thirdly and the most convincing reason for some serious girl talk, have you forgotten what I walked in on this evening? Well let me remind you, you straddling Lucas' lap making out! If that doesn't constitute reason for gossiping I don't know what does." All through Peyton's rant, Brooke never lost the smile on her face.

Brooke bit her lower lip some and said "Oh, you wanna know about that! Well why didn't you just say so best friend!" Peyton simply rolled her eyes at Brooke's antics and threw her hands in the air and said "Well?"

"Well when I got there he was so surprised and that was exactly what I wanted! Anyways, we pretty much talked about everything, from me leaving him standing there; to the reason I came back. I told him what happened in California and all that stuff and then… well basically all you need to know is that we both wanna be together but we're taking things slow this time." Peyton just watched the girl in front of her, every time she mentioned his name her eyes lit up and that grin on her face couldn't have been removed for anything. One thing was clear to Peyton, Brooke Davis was absolutely, 100, head over heels in love with Lucas Scott.

"So by taking it slow you meant straddling him on the living room couch with your tongue down his throat?" Peyton just laughed at the surprised expression on Brookes face. "P. Sawyer, I told you there is nothing wrong with kissing and we ARE taking it slow!" Brooke told her best friend with an emphasis on the word 'are.'

"Hello, this is me here, if it was the old me, I definitely would have slept with him within minutes of arriving on his doorstep!" she laughingly stated. By this time Peyton and Brook had switched snacks, now Peyton had the cookie dough and Brooke was digging her hand in the chips bag.

"Okay, okay, you're right. I just didn't expect to see that as I walked into the living room. Great, we're getting back to those days!" Peyton said with a mock roll of her eyes as Brooke just got a huge smile across her face that could light up a room. "Hopefully P. Sawyer, hopefully."

"I really am happy for you Brooke, for both of you. You guys deserve each other." Peyton said sincerely. Brooke blushed just slightly, not enough for Peyton to notice, but she knew she did. "Thanks Peyt, that really means a lot to me. Now if you will excuse me, I am done stuffing my face and as we can both see I need my beauty sleep so I will see you in the morning. Night best friend." Brooke said as she got up off the bed, throwing the cookie dough wrapper away as she did so, and walking towards the door. "Hey Brooke" Peyton said as she was about to head out the door. "Yea" Brooke asked from where she was standing in the door frame. "I'm glad you're back." "Me too P. Sawyer, me too."

Once Brooke got to her room, she brushed her teeth and got underneath the covers. As she lay there, all she could think about was how much she missed the smell of Lucas' cologne and the feel of him next to her. For so long she hadn't felt that but from just the last two days, she now craved that. Just as she was beginning to close her eyes, her cell phone began ringing from its place on the night stand. Brooke lazily rolled over and picked it up, her eyes shining as she saw the name on the caller ID.

"I was just thinking about you" she said as she picked up the phone. She heard him chuckle and could imagine him lying in bed with no shirt and the covers pulled up to the top of where his pajama bottoms began. "Well I was just getting ready to go to bed but I wanted to hear your voice before I fell asleep." Brooke couldn't help the flutter in her stomach at his words. She wondered how she came to deserve this.

"Oh Lucas… I'm glad you called. So, what did you do after we left?" She knew what he did but she just wanted to see if she knew him as well as she thought she did. She snuggled deeper into her covers as he did the same. "Well I cleaned up the living room and then got ready for bed and just read for an hour or so. What about you, did you guys have a good talk or whatever?" She knew he would have read after they left, that's just what he did. "Yea me and Peyt talked about a lot of stuff" she lied a little bit, all they talked about was him but she didn't wanna tell him that.

"Good, well I guess I'll let you get to sleep. I just couldn't go to bed without hearing your voice." Brooke smiled to herself and said "I'm glad you called. I guess I'll see you tomorrow Broody."

Lucas smiled at the use of his old nickname. "I can't wait Cheery. Goodnight."

"Night Lucas." And with that they both hung up not being able to remove the smile plastered on both of their faces. They each fell asleep with the thought of tomorrow on their minds.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey everyone... just a quick note before the story. This chapter is a lot longer than my other posts but i just couldn't break it up so i hope you all enjoy it. It gets a little detailed so just wanted to let you know ahead of time. Anyways on with the chapter, please review and let me know what you think.

**Chapter 16 – Giving In**

It had been three weeks since Brooke had made her turn around trip from California to be back in Tree Hill with everything and one she loved. Lucas and Brooke had spent pretty much everyday together and they each loved every minute of it. They were getting to learn every detail about the other again and this time it was more in depth. At this point they knew pretty much every little secret about the other. Brooke had dubbed them boyfriend and girlfriend again and there was no way Lucas was going to turn that down. He loved spending time with her; he never knew he could spend so much time with one person and still have things to talk about, to learn about the other person. But that was one of the main things he loved about Brooke, she was always surprising him in one way or another.

Even though they were boyfriend and girlfriend again, they were still taking it slow, however, with each passing day it was getting harder and harder to resist on both sides. They were at the point where they weren't putting themselves in situations that could get out of control. They spent most of their time just relaxing and talking. The thing Brooke loved to do the most was when her and Lucas would go to the park and lay a blanket on the ground. They would lay on it, Brooke with her head resting on his chest and Lucas reading out loud to the both of them.

He would have the book in one hand and the other always found its way to Brooke's hair where he would twirl her hair with his fingertips. She loved just lying there listening to his voice, listening to him breath, and mostly listening to his heart beat. She hadn't forgotten about the HCM and she wouldn't let him forget it either. They had little arguments about it every once in a while but nothing major, they always blew over pretty quickly.

Even though they had been spending pretty much every waking moment together, they never excluded Peyton. Since no one else was in Tree Hill that summer, with Haley still in New York with a promise to be back for senior year and Nathan at High Flyers, it was just the three of them. They did lots of things together but Peyton understood that they also needed their alone time and she was perfectly cool with that.

This weekend however, she got a call from her father and she was driving down to meet him for the weekend for some good old father daughter bonding so Brooke and Lucas were on their own this weekend. Brooke had decided to spend the weekend at his house since she didn't like being alone.

"Hey boyfriend, I'm here!" Brooke walked into Lucas' house shouting. She was carrying a duffel bag that contained her clothes and such for the weekend.

"Well hey Pretty girl, I'm glad you're here" Lucas said from where he was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.

"Lucas, you do know cereal is a breakfast food right? I mean it's almost six o'clock at night Broody!" Brooke said as she set her bag down on the floor and made her way over to where he was sitting.

"I am well aware of that fact but I was hungry and without my mom here to cook all the time I have to improvise and cereal was the easiest" he matter of factly stated.

"Well whatever, so whatcha wanna do tonight? I was thinking we could go see a movie or something? What do you think?"

Lucas loved how she asked him a question and then pretty much answered it before he even had the chance to say a word. "Well a movie sounds like a good idea. Have anything in mind?" Lucas said as he got up from the table and brought his bowl to the sink where he rinsed it out and put it in the dishwasher. He made his way back over to Brooke and she stood up as he got closer.

He pulled her to him and placed a sweet kiss on her lips and looked into her eyes as he drew back. "Hi" he said in a voice a little louder than a whisper. Brooke laughed and said "Hey back at cha!" in a whisper much like his. "And to answer your question, I don't really care what we see. Whatever is fine."

They finally left the house to see an eight o'clock movie and ended up walking down the boardwalk on the way home. They really didn't need to say anything to each other as they strolled down the dock with the water beneath them causing a slight drop in the temperature. Lucas had his arm wrapped tightly around Brooke shoulder and hers was draped around his waist. Lucas, knowing Brooke, wasn't surprised when she suddenly ended the silence and asked him a question.

"What are you thinking right now Broody?" Lucas simply looked over at her and saw her hair lightly blowing around from the wind, saw the way her lips shined from lip gloss she had on, and how her eyes sparkled every time they walked underneath a street light.

"I was thinking about how beautiful you are" he said with all seriousness in his voice. Brooke turned her head to look at him and her eyes immediately latched onto his blue ones. She had her huge dimpled smile on her face and said

"You're too good to me, you know that." Lucas simply shook his head and said "You deserve it." With that, they made their way back to Lucas' house, said their goodnights and each fell asleep in the others arms.

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Saturday morning and afternoon were pretty uneventful as Lucas had to work at the body shop and Brooke had a couple errands to run. Brooke made a quick trip to the mall to kill some time before going back to Lucas' to wait for him to get off work. It was about five when she finally decided to head back. When she pulled into the drive way, she saw Lucas' car sitting in the drive way. 'Good he is already home and I don't have to wait anymore' she thought to herself as she made her way to the front door. Once she got inside she didn't hear him, until she made her way to the living room. He sounded like he was on the phone and she didn't wanna disturb him so she just tried to listen to who he was on the phone with.

"Yes, everything is fine, the Café and body shop are both doing fine."

"Yes I am eating enough, I am seventeen years old mom, I know how to feed myself!"

'So he is talking to his mom' Brooke thought to herself as she tried not to listen in on the conversation. She couldn't hear what Karen was saying, only Lucas but it was pretty easy to understand what she was asking him.

"No I haven't been up to too much lately, just hanging out, you know? Brooke and I have been just hanging out too. Yes mom, I know. Mom, stop. Me and Skills and the guys have been shooting around, just some pick up games here and there. No I miss the gym weirdly enough…" he continued talking but by this time Brooke had zoned out on it.

He still hadn't told his mom about the HCM and Brooke knew she would be devastated when she found out. Lucas had been lying to everyone about it and she knew it was his secret to tell but they deserved to know. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard him hang up the phone. He turned around and she was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey babe, how long have you been standing there?" Lucas asked as he made his way towards her.

"Long enough to hear you lie to your mom again about your heart" Brooke said. Lucas stopped before he made his way completely to her and sighed, they were gonna have this conversation again.

"Brooke…"

"No Lucas, you need to tell her, she needs to know."

"Brooke, that really isn't something you tell over the phone."

"Yea well you didn't exactly tell her when she was here anyways so what's the difference? You have a heart disease Lucas! Do you understand that?" Brooke said in an angry voice.

Exasperated, Lucas answered Brooke's question. "Yes Brooke. Of course I understand that, it's my heart after all. Look I don't wanna argue about this with you anymore."

"And I don't wanna argue with you so I'm gonna leave before either of us says something we're gonna regret." And with that Brooke walked back out the door she only came through minutes ago. Lucas just watched after her as she slammed the door. "What the hell just happened?" Lucas asked himself out loud as he sat down on the couch.

Brooke got in her car and drove back down the street. She wasn't sure why she just got so mad about Lucas not telling his mother about the HCM. She knew he had been hiding it from her for the past three weeks so why was she now getting so upset about it? She rolled the windows down and turned the radio up and just drove around. She used to do this when her parents used to fight all the time or she just needed time to herself, time to think.

While Lucas went to the river court to think; she drove around aimlessly. She finally found herself at the park where she and Lucas had been spending a lot of their time lately. She put her VW Bug into park and exited the car. She found her way over to a bench and just sat. She sat there thinking of the past few weeks, of the past few years and how much her life had changed, how much she had changed. Before she knew it, she felt a drop of rain on her arm. She looked up at the sky and just then, as if on queue, the heavens opened and it started pouring. She jumped up from the bench and ran to the car. She was soaked to say the least.

Lucas was sitting in the kitchen watching the rain fall. He was staring out the window watching the drops slither down the window pane. This had been Brooke's and his first real fight since she came back. He wasn't even sure what had happened. One minute he was on the phone with his mom and the next she was slamming the door on her way out. He wondered where she was right now. He wanted to call her but he figured she probably wouldn't answer anyways. He remembered Brooke and his fights from when they were first together. She would ignore his calls until she was ready to talk so he figured he'd just wait for her this time.

He got up from where he was sitting in the kitchen and walked into the living room. He decided that since the temperature dropped from the weather outside that he would make a fire. Once he got the fire started he was just on his way to his bedroom to grab his book when there was a knock at the door.

He turned in direction and headed for the door. When he got there and opened it, he had that feeling of déjà vu. Standing on his porch once again was a very innocent, soaking wet Brooke Davis. She just looked into his eyes and saw all the love in the world, more love then she ever knew existed.

In a small voice, Brooke finally broke the silence between them when she said "I didn't know where else to go."

Lucas did the only thing he could think of and pulled the girl he was in love with into his arms; her smaller body fitting perfectly into his taller, much more muscular frame. He placed a gentle kiss on her head and Brooke softly smiled at this gesture. He didn't care that he was getting his clothes wet or that they were standing in the door way with the door wide open, all that mattered was the girl in his arms.

"Why don't we go sit down by the fire to warm you up" Lucas stated.

They made their way to the living room and sat on the couch that was just close enough to the fire for it to radiate its heat off and for Brooke to warm up.

"How did you get soaked again?" Lucas asked once he handed her a blanket off the back of the couch.

"I was at the park just sitting there and then it started raining and I didn't make it back to the car in time." Brooke said with a small smirk on her face.

"Brooke, I don't wanna fight with you. I know I need to tell my mom and I will I just wanna tell her in my own time, when she is actually here and can see me" Lucas finally said after there had been a silence for about two minutes.

"I know you will and I'm sorry I freaked out on you. I guess… I guess I'm just scared that's all. I'm scared to lose you." And there it was. That's why Brooke had freaked out earlier, why she yelled at him, why she slammed the door. She was scared and she didn't like to show any signs of weakness. Lucas understood now why she ran. That's what Brooke does when she gets scared, she runs. He just had to prove to her hat she had nothing to be scared about.

"Brooke I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You're stuck with me" Lucas said as he grabbed her hand and turned himself so he was facing her.

"Lucas, don't make promises that you can't keep."

"I can keep this promise Brooke. I promise you I am not going anywhere. You wanna know why?" Lucas had a serious tone in his voice as he calmly and gently talked to her.

"Why?" Brooke was looking in his eyes, searching for the answer. Lucas put both his hands on both sides of her cheeks gently rubbing with is thumb and said in the most sweet, sincere voice Brooke had ever heard anyone use

"Because I love you." It was as simple as that. She had been back for nearly a month now and they still hadn't said those words to each other. They both knew that's how the other felt but they hadn't actually said it yet. Brooke stared into his eyes and saw exactly that, love. With tears welling up in her eyes, she put her hand on top of his that was still resting on her cheek and said "I love you too."

They both smiled and leaned in for what was the most passion filled kiss either of them had ever experienced. Here, sitting on the couch with the fire roaring and them locked together by their lips, was the single most perfect moment anyone could ask for.

They continued to kiss, never breaking their lips from each others as they resituated themselves on the couch. Brooke's hands were now on both sides of his face and one of his had found its way to her hair and the other the small of her back. He pulled them closer together as Brooke found her place on his lap. Lucas moved from her lips down to her jaw line and continued down to her neck.

There he lightly bit and sucked ever so slowly on her skin. She moaned softly as she moved her hands from his face and now one was lightly tugging on his blonde locks while the other was wrapped around his neck trying to bring him closer. Brooke moved so she was straddling his lap and they continued kissing. With each kiss, passion and lust was beginning to take over. In one swift movement, Brooke broke the kissing and removed Lucas' shirt. He was kneading and massaging her lower back as his hands and slipped under her shirt so he could feel her soft skin.

Brooke ran her nails lightly across his shoulders and upper back as she moved down to his neck. There she left butterfly kisses all down his neck and around his Adams apple. As she did this she felt his breath catch in his throat. They were both breathing heavy and their hands roaming. Lucas' hands were underneath Brooke's shirt as he moved them from the small of her back around front of her and was holding on, his hands rubbing her middle, where her ribs were. His thumbs were right below her bra. Brooke felt herself getting lost in Lucas. She knew that they should stop but she didn't want to.

When Brooke felt Lucas's hand slip underneath her bra, she lightly gasped in anticipation. Lucas knew they should stop but that was the furthest thing from his mind as he felt Brooke gasp at his touch. He removed his hands from Brooke's breasts and he slowly trailed his fingers down her stomach until he reached the hem of her shirt. There he hesitated for only a minute and then lifted the shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor.

Lucas went straight back to her neck. It was one of his favorite spots on her body. How soft it was, how it always smelled like vanilla. God he couldn't get enough of her. This was getting to be too much for Brooke. She pulled back from Lucas and looked into his eyes. They were filled with desire, lust, passion, and best of all love.

"I know, I know… we gotta stop. I'm sorry" Lucas started to say until Brooke silenced him with a kiss.

"I was just gonna suggest we move this to the bedroom" Brooke said as she raised her eyebrows in anticipation and hope. Lucas laughed at her and stroked her hair.

"Are you sure about this? I know you wanted to take it slow." He asked her and hoped, no prayed that she said she was sure.

"Lucas, I think we've taken things slow enough, don't you?" Brooke said in her whisper voice she uses so often. Lucas picked her up in one swift motion and Brooke wrapped her legs around him.

"Yea Pretty girl, I think we've taken it slow enough." And with that said he started on his way to his bedroom.

Once they made it into the room, Lucas set her down lightly on the bed. She looked beautiful in just her jeans and black bra, her hair still wet from the rain. Even though no one else was there, he closed the door and walked back over to the bed. She reached up and pulled him onto the bed with her. She brushed her hand across his cheek and bit her bottom lip.

He lightly rubbed her back with one hand as he lowered his head to kiss her. After kissing for what felt like twenty-five minutes, his hands found their way to the button of her jeans. He hesitated but continued on when she nodded her head and kissed his lips lightly. They broke apart as he pulled her jeans down and she did the same to him. Lucas tossed her jeans on the floor and she did the same with his. Brooke was left in her bra and panties and Lucas in just his boxers. This wouldn't be their first time together but it would be their first time making love and they were both a little nervous.

Lucas lay back on the bed next to her and they slipped under the sheets. They turned to face each other and Lucas stroked her cheek. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks a flushed pink color. He loved her with everything he had and what made that feeling better was the fact that she loved him the same way. He kissed her shoulder and slipped one strap of her bra off and then did the same to the other.

He then tossed her bra on the floor with the pile of jeans. Brooke just closed her eyes and basked in the moment. His hands on her felt amazing and she had missed this feeling. As they continued to kiss, one of Lucas' hands slipped under the sheets and made its way down towards her panties. He lightly rubbed his fingers over the silky material and felt himself losing grip as he heard her sharp intake of breath and the moan that escaped her lips.

He continued to do this for a minute or so and then gently slipped his fingers underneath the silky material that stood between them. He watched her face and just smiled to himself. She lost herself in him completely at this point. He gently put his finger inside her and reality washed away. It was just the two of them and nothing else mattered. Brooke couldn't believe the feeling that was washing over her. They had both waited so long for this and now it was finally happening. As Lucas moved his finger in and out of her, her moans became louder and they only egged Lucas on. Lucas watched her face as she reached her first much anticipated peak of the night. Their eyes met at that moment and both were glazed over with desire. This was the moment they had been waiting for.

Lucas brought both his hands up to her flushed cheeks and he placed them on either side. He ever so slowly kissed her lips and brought himself up to look in her eyes.

"Are you sure? There's no turning back." He wanted to make sure she was absolutely sure.

She loved Lucas for this exact reason. He was always thinking of her and that was a first for Brooke. She smiled up at him and kissed him with everything that she had. Her tongue lightly tracing his bottom lip waiting for access and she was more then pleased when he granted it. They broke apart and he was laughing lightly. He touched her cheek and whispered "I love you."

She smiled and said "I love you too."

With that he reached under the sheet and gently pulled her panties down and put them on the floor. Lucas stood up, never breaking eye contact with Brooke as she tugged at his boxers and watched as they fell to the floor. He stepped out of them and climbed back on the bed.

He positioned himself above her and supported himself so he didn't hurt her with his weight. Brooke reached over and pulled a condom out of the nightstand drawer. "Just where I remember them…" she said as Lucas just chuckled.

He slid the condom on and just admired her for a minute. Her hair wavy from the rain was spilled out all over his pillow, cheeks slightly pink, with swollen lips and her eyes dancing. With that last thought, he gave way to his passion and desire that had been building and gently entered her. They both moaned in delight at the first thrusts having not felt the other in so long. This was different from last time and they could both tell.Brooke closed her eyes and threw her head back as they hit a rhythm and fell into sync with each others thrusts.

Lucas was being gentle and loving yet passionate and raw at the same time. Brooke's body began trembling and Lucas knew she was near her peak as he was too.

"Don't stop..." Brooke whispered as she grabbed onto his shoulders and buried herface in his neck as he was thrusting in and out of her. Lucas kissed her neck and made his way up to her lips as he knewboth of their climaxes were right there. With one final thrust and a grunt and moan from bothBrooke and Lucas,they peaked together and collapsed on the bed next to each other.

Lucas wrapped his arm around her as she rested her head on his chest; both breathing heavily and exhausted from the previous activity. Wrapped in the sheets, Lucas placed a kiss on her temple and Brooke sighed in content. "Wow… that was…"

"That was perfect" Lucas finished Brooke's sentence. He felt her smile against his chest as she kissed the same spot. "Yea, perfect." They laid their in silence for a few minutes both happy to be in each others arms. Lucas grabbed her a little tighter and put his lips right against her ear and repeated again for the third time that night "I love you Pretty girl."

Brooke smiled to herself as she could feel herself giving in to the sleep that was slowly grabbing at her. Lucas felt himself falling asleep also and rested his head against the top of hers. She snuggled in closer to his body and whispered against his chest "I love you too Broody." And with that, they both fell asleep absolutely content and happy for the first time in a long time.

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Well thats it until next chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought cause i wasn't sure about this chapter. Thanks guys... Charley


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everybody... I am so sorry for the lack of updates on this fic. I have finally finished my finals but now I start my three jobs for the summer so I am not sure how much time I will have to post and everything so I think what I'm gonna do is finish this off at chapter 20 wrapping everything up. This update is shorter but I wanted to give you guys something! Anyways... hope you like it! And on with the chapter...**

**Chapter 17 – Surprises**

The window was open and as the wind twirled around outside picking leaves up as it swept through, it whipped the curtains around making a swishing sound. The sunlight traveled through the window lighting up the room in various places. It smelled of rain, however it must have been remnants left over from the storm they had last night because there was not a cloud in the sky today.

Today however, someone special walked down the streets of Tree Hill. Not having seen this sight in a while, they walked around trying to memorize everything so as not to forget it. As she walked closer to the destination, she couldn't help but think of how much she had missed this place. She finally rounded the last corner and was at her destination. It hadn't changed at all, not that she thought it would have but was glad it looked the exact same. At least some things stayed the same.

She bounced up the steps of the porch and made her way around until she was face to face with the red door. She knew he would be asleep still and she was glad, she wanted to surprise him.

She got the key from under the mat and put it in the key hole. She turned it slowly so the clicking of the key in the lock wasnot too loud. She finally got it unlocked and twisted the knob. She stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. She turned around and shouted without looking at the bed "Get out of bed! It's perfect outside best friend…" she trailed off as her best friend and the girl beside him, both wrapped in sheets started to shift. Haley had no idea they were together, none the less that they would both be naked on his bed.

Lucas awoke to be completely confused. He opened his eyes, squinting trying to adjust to the light and felt Brooke move beside him. She groaned a little as he moved more and she too opened her eyes. They each looked at each other remembering the night before and both immediately had smiles plastered on their faces. "Hi" he whispered as he moved a piece of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. She whispered back "Hey…"

They were brought out of their trance as they heard someone clear their throat. They looked up to come face to face with Haley James Scott, runaway rock star.

"So this is awkward, I'm just gonna go. You two call me later" Haley said as they all made eye contact for the first time.

"No Haley, wait. Just give us a second. You can go in the living room or whatever, okay?" Lucas asked as he started to pull the sheet around Brooke and his body a little more. He didn't want Haley to see anything she wasn't supposed to!

"No it's cool guys, I didn't know. Sorry…" this time she was cut off by Brooke.

"Tutor girl, please, just give us a second and we will catch up. I really wanna talk to you."

Haley was hesitant at first but could see by the look in thier eyes that neither was completely humiliated by their awkward and rude awakening. They were both laying naked in ront of her with nothing but a sheet covering them but they still had this look in their eyes. Haley couldn't quite place what it was but she was gonna find out. She did notice that they had their fingers intertwined and Lucas was gently running his other fingers up and down Brooke's arm slowly with the lightest of touches.

"Okay, just take your time or whatever. I'll be in the kitchen. I didn't eat breakfast and I am starving. Luke, so do you know if your mom has any of that stuff she used to make for breakfast all the time, god what was that called? Oh I think it was…" she was standing by the door still and hadn't made any movement to the kitchen and now she was going on about god knows what and here Lucas and Brooke were still in bed, naked might I add, and Haley is rambling.

"Haley… could you maybe just go in the kitchen and look for yourself?" Lucas had to cut her off or they could have been stuck there all day. Haley looked over at Brooke and Lucas, both with a slightly embarrassed look on their face and Brooke burying her head in Lucas' shoulder.

"Oh, yea right. See ya out there" and with that Haley left the naked couple to get dressed.

"Okay, that was embarrassing" Brooke said once the door was closed. She buried her face in Lucas's chest as the both laid back down. He ran his fingers through her hair and chuckled lightly at her.

"Brooke, do you remember how many times we got caught in the janitor's closet by teachers might I add. And you're embarrassed now in front of Haley, our friend?" Brooke hit him lightly on his stomach and shrugged.

"Well I wasn't naked in the janitors closet was I?" When she said this, Luke laughed again and said "Well, we were pretty close sometimes!"

"Lucas! Plus, I haven't seen Haley in forever and this is how she sees me for the first time in months! Great!" Brooke really wasn't that embarrassed but she was always one for the dramatics. Lucas couldn't help but laugh at her. She was getting all worked up over this and it wasn't that bad. Then he thought of something that would set her mind at ease.

"Well just think of it this way, at least it wasn't my mom." Brooke looked over at him, their eyes meeting and her dimpled smile came out.

"Definitely, that would have been SO embarrassing!" She looked down again and noticed that their fingers were laced. She hadn't even noticed it, that's how right it felt.

"Ya know…" she started as she ran her fingers lightly across his chest "…last night was pretty amazing."

Lucas caught her hand in his own and brought it up to his lips and gently placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"Yea… it was. Are you up for round two?" Lucas asked with mischief in his eyes. This comment surprised Brooke, she wasn't expecting it from Lucas, from herself sure but not from Lucas.

"Lucas! Haley is in the other room!" she replied laughing at his comment. He just laughed with her and grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her up to meet him. "I can be quiet if you can."

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at him, she really had corrupted him.

"As tempting as that offer is, maybe after Haley is gone and there is no chance of her walking in again. Now…" Brooke reached up and grabbed the sides of is face and planted a heated, passionate kiss on his lips, her tongue swirling around his "…lets get dressed and go talk to Haley." And with that, Brooke grabbed the sheet and stood up with it wrapped around her, leaving Lucas on the bed with nothing to cover himself with.

"Hey… no fair. I didn't get a peek!" Brooke turned around, looked at him and let the sheet drop before heading into the bathroom. Luke just laughed and got himself dressed before picking the sheet up off the floor. He looked around the room and saw their clothes in a pile and random things here and there.

Brooke's bra had somehow managed to end up hanging out of the trash can. He picked it up and held it for only a second before Brooke opened the door to the bathroom and grabbed it out if his hand and said 'thank you' before closing the door again. He still had the sheet in his hand and walked over to the bed. He brought the sheet to his nose and inhaled the vanilla scent that always left him wanting more. God he loved that girl.

Out in the kitchen, Haley was just waiting for them to come out. She had no idea that they were together, let alone even liked each other again. Although, knowing Brooke and Lucas from before she left, they could just be sleeping together without being together. They could be doing what Brooke had done with Felix and the whole 'Friends with Benefits' situation.

But from what she saw this morning, how they were in each others arms and how Brooke buried her face in his chest, it seemed more then that, much more. Haley got tired of waiting in silence so she walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and saw Lucas shirt crumpled up by the edge of the couch. Then she saw Brooke's shirt, in the same state as Lucas's on the coffee table. 'Gross… they couldn't even wait for the bedroom!' Haley just shook her head and let a small smile appear across her lips.

Just then, she heard Brooke and Lucas coming down the hallway. She turned her head to see them walking towards her holding hands. "Well it's about time, you two."

"Sorry. Anyways, come here, what are you doing here?" Lucas asked as he reached for her so she could give him a hug. They hugged for a minute and then Brooke gave Haley a hug as well. "It's good to have you back tutorgirl!" Brooke said as they broke apart. "I thought you weren't gonna be here until the end of the summer?"

"I know, but I got homesick I guess you could say. I just really, really wanted to come home and spend the rest of my summer here, with you guys. It's good to be back" Haley said with a smile on her face. "By the way, sorry what I walked in on. I had no idea or else…" Haley was cut off by Brooke. "Don't worry about it, it's cool."

They continued to talk for about twenty minutes, mostly Haley talking about the tour and all that went on while she was away. She noticed how Brooke and Lucas's fingers were intertwined and how Lucas was rubbing small circles on the back of Brooke's hand with his thumb. She was definitely going to need to talk to Lucas about this situation and find out when all this happened! Just as that thought went through Haley's head, they heard the ringing of Brooke's cell phone. She jumped off the couch and made it to the bedroom in record time before her phone went to voice mail. Lucas and Haley continued to talk until Brooke came back out.

"Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to cut this short, that was P. Sawyer and I guess we gotta go to the grocery store to get food for the week. Anyways… tutorgirl, I'm thinking a girl's night is in order now that you're back and P. Sawyer and I are living together… it'll be perfect. So I will give you a call later today" Brooke said from where she was standing beside the couch.

Then her eyes moved from Haley to Lucas. She smiled at him and walked a little closer to the couch to say goodbye. He grabbed her hand in his and she rested her other hand on his shoulder. "I guess I'll see you later…" she said as she tilted her head to the side a little. She leaned down and placed a lingering, soft kiss on his lips and whispered in his ear "Last night was perfect, thank you." She kissed his cheek and as she was raising her head, he said in a soft voice "Love you." She smiled her dimpled smiled that he loved so much and she said in the same soft voice "I love you too." With that, Brooke was out the door and it was just Lucas and Haley left sitting on the couch.

"So… I guess a lot changed while I was away?" said Haley with laughter in her voice. "So, come on… when did this all happen?" Lucas just looked at her with a smile plastered to his face and said "Well it all started on the day Brooke was leaving for California…"

Lucas went on to tell Haley all the details, minus exactly what happened the night before and the two best friends spent the day getting caught up on each others lives.

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Okay... thats it. I will try to post chapet 18 soon. I am already half way through it and I will let you know it will be my longest update yet so... please review, I would apprectiate it!

Charley


	18. Chapter 18

Okay... here is chapter 18. I hope you guys like it! Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks...

**Chapter 18 – Basketball and Kisses**

The summer had pretty much flown by with everything that everyone had been up to. Peyton had kept herself busy with her art and drawings and just hanging out with Brooke, Lucas, and Haley but she still squeezed time in for her duties at Tric. Haley had spent a lot of her time catching up with everyone around town, she had many girls nights with Brooke and Peyton just hanging out and talking and she also spent lots of time with Lucas and they were back to being the friends that they had always been.

Brooke and Lucas were of course inseparable. They were always together except when the girls did their 'girls nights' and when Lucas hung out at the Rivercourt with Skills, Fergie, Junk, and Mouth. Even then, Brooke would usually stop by and be Lucas' own 'personal cheering squad' as the other boys so affectionately referred to it.

Everyone was getting ready to return from their summer vacations and settle back into their routines. Nathan was due home from High Flyers in the next couple of days and Lucas and Brooke were going to the airport tonight to pick up Karen who was returning from her summer abroad in New Zealand.

Lucas rolled over and opened his eyes expecting to see Brooke lying next to him but his eyes were instead met with the empty pillow beside him. He sat up a little and looked around, his eyes taking the time to adjust to the light. A faint smile played across his lips as he saw all the little things that reminded him that Brooke was his.

There were her hair ties on his night stand, one of her skirts lying on the floor, a pair of her earrings sitting on his dresser, a cosmo magazine sitting on his desk chair that she had been reading the quizzes out of the night before and asking him stupid questions like 'Do you think my eyes would stand out more using this color or this color?' and pointing to two eye shadows that looked the exact same. It was these small reminders that he loved and would never get tired of.

He was just about to get out of bed when Brooke came bouncing through the door.

"Hey sleepyhead! It's about time you got up. I was just coming in to wake you" she said as she grabbed a couple shirts and threw them into a pile of her stuff that had increasingly grew the more nights she spent in Lucas' bed rather than her own.

Lucas reached out to her and grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down on top of him. "And how were you going to wake me up?" he asked with his eyebrows raised in a devious manner. Brooke lightly giggled at his comment.

"Well, I would have started with this..." and she kissed his neck, right below his ear "…and then this…" she then moved to the other side and did the same thing, all the while her hands had found their way under his shirt and were lightly grazing his hard stomach muscles. Lucas smiled and laughed as she kissed each side of his neck. He could wake up like this everyday.

"Then, I would have done this…" she trailed her sentence off as she landed her lips on his in a hard, passionate, lustful kiss that only they could give each other. Their tongues dueled with each other as Lucas deepened the kiss and nipped at her bottom lip. Brooke had by this point lifted his shirt above his head and left it lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. Lucas had flipped them over so Brooke was now under him and he had laced their fingers together and was gently pinning Brooke's arms above her head as they continued to kiss.

Brooke, who still had her pajamas on, which consisted of one of Lucas' old basketball shirts and a pair of her boy shorts, would never get tired of this. The way Lucas' kisses left tingles where ever his lips touched, the way he gently but strongly held her, just everything about this boy made her go weak in the knees.

Since Lucas held her arms above her head, this caused the shirt she was wearing to ride up revealing the soft skin of her abdomen. Lucas' eyes had unconsciously seen this and he began trailing kisses down her body. He kissed from her jaw bone, down her neck, past her breasts, and finally made his way to the exposed skin of her stomach. He left little wet marks were his tongue would taste her soft skin as he made his way down. Brooke couldn't help but let out little moans as he made his way down.

His hands had found their way under her shirt and began playing with the hot, soft skin of her breasts. He soon had the shirt over her head with a little help from her. Brooke had her eyes closed as Lucas continued to play with her breasts, rubbing and massaging them softly, gently, all the while still kissing her stomach. The little moans that were coming from her mouth urged him on. He made his way down a little further until he reached her boy shorts. There he saw the tattoo that he too had and that would always be a reminder of their first date together. He gently kissed it and Brooke knew that's where he had stopped and looked. Their eyes met again as they both smiled and he kissed her tattoo again.

He moved back up to her lips as his hands roamed freely all over her petite body. Her hands, one in his baby soft blonde hair and the other holding on to the small of his back, pushing him further into her were enjoying the feeling of him, all of him. His fingers gently traveled down to the hem of her boy shorts and he teased her by dragging it across her skin. So here they lay, Lucas in just a pair of boxers and Brooke in only her boy shorts and that is exactly how Skills and Mouth found them as they burst through Lucas' side door.

"Oh my god!" Brooke screamed as she tried to hide behind Lucas. Lucas going into protector mode, basically hugged Brooke to him as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, as the two boys entered the room.

"Oh… um, dawg… sorry. We just wanted you to come down to the Rivercourt to play a little two on two but…" Skills didn't know exactly what to say "…I didn't know you would be playing a little one on one instead!" He was laughing to himself as Mouth stood there with an open mouth gawking at a practically naked Brooke Davis.

"Mouth… close your mouth and get out!" Brooke said, she didn't yell but rather said it in an annoyed voice.

"Okay guys… you can stop staring and get out. I will meet you outside in a minute" Lucas said as he looked over his shoulder to see them. Brooke had her face buried in the crook of his neck and so he was trying to get them to leave so he and Brooke could get dressed. The two boys slowly made their way out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"Oh my god, Lucas! Why does that always happen to us!" Brooke said as Lucas let go of her and she lay back down. Lucas was laughing to himself and Brooke hit him as he handed her the shirt that had been thrown just a couple minutes ago. "It's not funny! They didn't just see you practically naked!" she said as she slipped the shirt back over her body.

"Umm… yea they did." Lucas said back to her with an incredulous look on his face.

"Yea but its okay for them to see that, me on the other hand, it is not okay if they see me naked! Do you not care that they just saw me topless! I am your girlfriend and you are the only one who is supposed to see that! Not your friends too!" Brooke said all in one breathe.

"Baby, I don't think they saw anything but if they did, I will beat them up okay?" Lucas asked in a soft voice that one would use when speaking to a small child as he cupped her cheek in his hand and used the other hand to gently brush a piece of hair behind her ear.

Brooke looked up at him and met his gaze "Promise?" she said as she continued to pout.

Lucas laughed at the cute look on her face and said "Promise. Now I'm gonna go and talk to them. What are you doing today?" he asked as he got up and put his shoes on. Brooke too got up and moved to the edge of the bed and sat cross legged like small kids do. "Well, me and Peyton, and maybe Tutorgirl if I can convince her, are gonna go shopping. There are these totally cute wedges I saw the other day and I so have to have them!"

Lucas laughed at how she could go from pouting and being somewhat upset one second to being completely excited and happy the next. I guess that's why he calls her cheery!

"Okay… well have fun, I guess I'm gonna go down to the Rivercourt with the guys. Call me later and we'll meet up to go pick up my mom" he said as he kissed her lightly on the lips and started walking towards the door. "Okay… then maybe we can finish what was just so rudely interrupted?" she asked with her eyes twinkling and her eyebrows wiggling. Lucas laughed at her and said "You can count on it" and with that he was out the door and Brooke was on her way to the shower to get ready.

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Once outside, Lucas found Skills and Mouth sitting on the railing of the porch waiting for him like they said they would. He walked up to them laughing as they were whistling and clapping.

"Dawg, if that's what every morning is like… damn!" Skills said as they started walking towards the Rivercourt. "Yea Luke, I could only imagine" Mouth said as he stared off ahead of them.

"Mouth, please don't imagine my girlfriend naked while I am walking right next to you!" Luke said as him and Skills laughed at Mouth's face. "But Brooke wanted me to see if you guys saw anything that you weren't supposed to?" Both Mouth and Skills smiled at the thought and then Skills said "No dawg, you were all over her. The only skin we got to see was yours! So what is Miss Davis doing today, well besides you of course!"

Skills and Mouth laughed at Lucas' face and then he said "Haha… she is going shopping with Peyton and then later we are picking up my mom at the airport."

"Oh, so I see, you guys were just getting out all the extra energy you'll have now that your moms is coming back and you guys can't play house anymore. Sorry we interrupted!" Skills said. They all started laughing at Lucas's expense as the walked on to the Rivercourt where Fergie and Junk were already waiting.

"Lets get this game started; I think Luke has some extra pent up energy to work off!" Skills said as they all started laughing and Luke checked the ball.

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Brooke and Peyton were at the mall and had been shopping around for about an hour and a half. Brooke had about 5 bags while Peyton had1 which was the standard. They were making their way to the food court to get a drink and just sit down for a couple minutes. Brooke had just gotten done explaining what happened this morning to Peyton and she was cracking up.

"Seriously… is that all you guys do now? I know you were taking it slow in the beginning but that doesn't mean you have to make up for that time now."

"Hey! That's not all we do and you know that. Everyone just always walks in on us. It's not our faults!" Brooke said as they found a table to sit at after getting their drinks. "Besides, it's not funny, it was totally embarrassing! Lucas laughed too! I don't want Skills and Mouth to know what I look like naked! Only Lucas is supposed to know that!"

"Brooke, you do know that like half of the guys at school know what you look like naked? Don't you remember pre-Lucas?" Peyton asked.

"Of course I remember but I try to block it out. Plus by now, I'm sure the ones that were sober forgot and the drunk ones probably don't even remember so therefore Lucas is the only one who has present knowledge of what I look like under my clothes." Brooke said with a completely straight face. Peyton just looked at her to see if she was serious. When she saw that she wasn't kidding, she started laughing. Brooke looked surprised at first but then started laughing as well.

"Anyways… what time is it? Lucas and I are picking Karen up from the airport tonight but before we do we have to clean his house up a bit."

"Oh, so does that mean you will actually be sleeping in your own bed from now on since Karen will now be home? I'm sure she would be okay with her son's extremely horny girlfriend sleeping over all the time like you have been." Peyton said in a joking tone.

"Haha… yes, I will be sleeping in my own bed which sucks since I am so used to sleeping with him I will have to adjust again and get used to being on my own. Maybe I will just steal one of his pillows so it smells like him and I can imagine he is there" Brooke said with a sigh at the end. "Anyways, you never answered. What time is it? I left my phone on the nightstand by accident."

"It's just about twelve. When are you supposed to clean up the house?"

"Karen's flight comes in at like 4:30 or 5 or something so we were gonna meet back there at like 2 or something I think. But lets go shop some more before we gotta go, I wanna look in Victoria Secret."

"B. Davis, I am proud of you. Only 5 bags so far… that's surprising. Is Daddy Davis not giving as much allowance as he used to?" Peyton asked as the girls made their way out of the food court.

"Yea… he hasn't been as giving as he has been in the past. So… where to next?" Brooke tried to change the subject fast. Truth was she had been giving Lucas half of what her dad was giving her so he could pay for his HCM medicine. He refused to take it but after a week and a half of Brooke's resilience to give it up he finally gave in with a promise to pay her back every cent. Brooke could care less about the money as long as he was there every morning.

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It was a little after 1 o'clock now and the boys had been playing all morning. They had switched the teams up and were now back to the teams they had when they first showed up, Skills and Lucas against Junk and Fergie. They were just playing a game to 15 since Lucas had to be back at his house by 2 to clean up and get all of Brooke's stuff out of his room by the time they left to go get his mom. The score was 2 – 4 with Lucas and Skills winning of course. This was the fourth game of the day and Lucas had started to feel a little bit dizzy during the third. He was now way more out of breath then he remembered and was having a hard time keeping up.

"Yo dawg… is Davis wearing you out too much or what? Come on man, get your head in the game!" Skills yelled as Lucas basically let Fergie take the ball from his hands. He tried running back down to the other end of the court but got half way there when he started having pains in his chest. His heart hurt. He stopped running and placed his hand on his chest and could feel his heart beating a mile a minute. He was sweating a lot also and couldn't really keep his balance. Mouth was the first to notice since he was sitting on the bench commentating.

"Luke… are you alright?" he yelled across the court to where he stood. Luke looked up and saw the other guys all turn to look at him also. As they all stopped playing and Skills was walking to him, he got really dizzy and that's when everything went black and he hit the hot pavement with a loud thug as his whole body hit the ground.

"Lucas!" Skills yelled as he ran the rest of the way to his friend since childhood. The other guys all ran over as well. Lucas' head was bleeding a lot where it hit the pavement and Fergie took his shirt off and placed it under his head.

"Mouth, go call 911…"

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Brooke and Peyton were just finishing up in some store that Brooke dragged Peyton into and then they were gonna head out. "So do you like the shoes I got or love the shoes I got? I love these!" Brooke squealed as they were paying.

Peyton rolled her eyes and said "I don't think I'll ever meet anyone who gets as excited about shoes as you do! Now come on, you have to go meet Luke."

"Okay, Okay… I'm coming; there are just so many cute things in this store." Brooke said as she grabbed another shirt that caught her eye.

"Oh my god… could you…" Peyton was cut off by the ringing of her phone. "Okay go browse while I answer my phone and then we are leaving!" Peyton said as she pointed a finger at Brooke.

Brooke's eyes lit up like a little kids on Christmas as she ran off to another rack in the store. Peyton just laughed as she looked down at the caller ID on her phone. "Oh Brooke, wait… it's probably for you, its Luke" Peyton said as she handed Brooke the phone and waited for the mushy conversation she knew she was gonna hear.

Brooke grabbed the phone and smiled as she read Luke's name on the screen. She flipped it open and put it to her ear. "Hey baby… are you waiting for me?" she asked since she figured he was at home and waiting for her to come and help clean up.

"Brooke?" someone asked but it wasn't Luke. She wasn't sure who it was. "Um… yea?"

"It's Skills…" he was cut off by Brooke. "Hey… sorry do you wanna talk to Peyton? She just saw Luke's name on the caller ID and figured he probably called her because he realized I forgot my phone at home. Are you guys done playing?" Brooke waited for Skills to answer but it seemed like he was taking forever. "Skills… you still there?"

"Brooke, you might wanna sit down if your not already" was all Skills said.

"Why… what's going on? Can I talk to Luke please?" she didn't know why Skills was acting so weird but it was freaking her out. Peyton heard this last comment and came to stand by Brooke. She mouthed 'What's up?' Brooke just shrugged her shoulders and waited for Skills to put Luke on the phone.

"Brooke, I um… I don't really know what to tell you so I'm just gonna say it. Lucas… he, well hepassed outat the Rivercourt and now we're at the hospital waiting. I don't know what happened. One minute we were playing and then the next he was lying on the ground."

Brooke heard everything he said but she couldn't remember anything after the words 'passed out.' She dropped the phone and already had tears in her eyes. Peyton looked at her friend worried and picked up the phone. "Luke… what did you say to her?" she asked but was met with someone else's voice. Skills told Peyton the story and she too was worried for her friend. She looked over at Brooke who was silently convulsing from the tears she was trying to hold in. Peyton hung up the phone and grabbed Brooke's hand and waited for her to look at her and said "He is gonna be fine, okay… come on, lets go to the hospital. He will wanna see you." And with that Peyton guided a barely there Brooke out of the mall and to the hospital.

Brooke was in a daze. She just stared out the window on the way to the hospital. All she kept thinking about was the fact that she hadn't said she loved him when he left this morning. She knew that he knew that she did but still she didn't say it and she was afraid that she wouldn't get the chance to say it again to his face as she stared in his brilliant blue eyes.

Before she knew it they were at the hospital and walking through the entrance. She had tears in her eyes but had refused to let them fall. She needed to be strong. Peyton and her came upon the four other boys sitting in the waiting room. Skills had his head back resting against the wall with his eyes closed; Mouth had his head in his hands looking towards the ground, and Junk and Fergie were both just sitting there.

"Guys…" Peyton said as they walked up to the boys. They all looked over at the two girls and got up. "What happened?"

"We were just playing a game of two on two and then he stopped and grabbed his chest and was breathing really hard and then he just fell over. He hit his head on the ground…" as Skills said this, Fergie held up his shirt which had Luke's blood on it and Brooke saw it and her eyes widened. That was the final straw to push her towards the fact that this was in fact actually happening. When she saw Luke's blood, she lost the battle she was having with herself to not cry and she broke down sobbing. Skills saw what she was looking at and hit Fergie. "Yo… don't show her that!"

Peyton wrapped her arms around Brooke and sat down with her. "Shh… he's gonna be fine Brooke. I know it. Just relax,breathe sweetie. I know tomorrow I'm probably gonna walk in his room and fine you two, yet again, making out or god knows even worse going at it! So just breathe and calm down." Peyton got a small, sad smile out of Brooke with her comment but Peyton knew she wouldn't be okay until she saw Lucas with her own eyes.

They waited around for an hour or so and at this point Haley had joined them in the waiting room. Brooke knew she had to go get Karen but she didn't wanna leave. Peyton knew what she was thinking about when she looked at her watch for the thousandth time in the last five minutes. "Brooke, don't worry, I'll go get Karen."

Brooke smiled at her friends' ability to know exactly what she was thinking about. "Thanks Peyton. God… I can't believe she has to come home to Luke in the hospital again. This is gonna kill her."

Peyton left soon after and then they all just waited some more. There was still no news of Lucas or how he was doing. Brooke was starting to get impatient, but just as she was getting up to go see what was going on a doctor walked in. "Who's here for a… a Lucas Scott?" he asked as he looked down at the chart in his hands.

"I am" Brooke said as she jumped out of her seat at the mention of her boyfriend's name, her eyes wide with questions and curiosity.

"How are you related to Mr. Scott? I am only allowed to release his information to family" the doctor questioned the young girl in front of him. She looked tired and drained and like she had been there a while. The worry was written all over her face and even if he did want to tell her the information he had on the young man he couldn't. It was hospital policy.

"Well, I am his girlfriend and his mom and brother are both out of town. So can you please tell me? Is he okay?" Brooke just wanted to know that he was okay and she wanted to see him and tell him that she loved him.

"I'm sorry miss, but its hospital policy. I am only allowed to tell family. I'm sorry." He felt bad as he saw her face fall and the tears begin their way down her cheeks again. Brooke didn't know what else to say. She just wanted to see Lucas and see he was okay with her own eyes.

Haley saw the struggle behind Brooke's tear filled eyes. She wanted to help her but she didn't know how. Just then a thought came to her. She stepped forward and put her arm around Brooke.

"Well, I'm his sister-in-law if that makes a difference. Can you tell me?" Haley asked with hope in her eyes. Brooke quickly looked up at the doctor and then at Haley and then back to the doctor waiting for his answer.

"Well… I guess technically you are family and since no other relatives are here…" the doctor took a minute to stop and think about it. His hand reached up and he rubbed his chin lightly while in thought. "I guess I can tell you. Would you please follow me?" He gestured for Haley to follow him into another waiting room. Haley looked as nervous as Brooke did.

They walked into the other room and Brooke could see the doctor telling Haley all about Lucas' condition through the large glass windows. She didn't know what they were saying. Haley's face gave no indication as to what had happened. Brooke knew it had to be the HCM. There was no way it couldn't have been from what Skills had described to her of what happened to him. She saw Haley's tears start to spill and with that more tears started down her own flawless face.

Haley emerged from the room with the doctor and he walked off down the ill fated hallway. Brooke slowly walked over to Haley. She looked up with tears in her eyes still and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Brooke closed her eyes, sighed and looked back at Haley in the eye. "It's his HCM isn't it?"

Haley looked at her with a confused, shocked expression on her face. "You knew?" Lucas never said anything about this to her.

"Yea… he told me about it at the beginning of the summer when I first came back." Brooke's voice was low but faltering ever so lightly. You could tell she was trying to be strong but her voice was giving way to the fact that she was a mess on the inside.

"What did he say? Is he going to be okay? Can I see him?" Haley still had yet to say anything about how he was doing and Brooke was becoming impatient. All she wanted to be doing right now was lying on the couch, her head resting on Lucas' chest, watching a movie. Hell she'd even let him watch ESPN if it meant he was okay and at home with her.

"Um… well, the doctor said he needs surgery but we have to wait until Karen can sign the consent form. We have to wait to see him. He said he'd come get us when we were allowed in his room. He got a concussion from when he hit his head and had to get a couple stitches to close up the cut. He also said he had a heart attack. How is that possible? He's only 17 years old." Haley couldn't grasp her head around what was happening. Lucas had a heart attack? He should be worrying about what college he was going to not if he was gonna make it till next week.

Brooke grabbed Haley in a hug as she started crying again. If she had to wait to see him she might as well calm Haley down some. "God Brooke, here you are comforting me when I should be comforting you." Brooke just smiled at her through her own tears and said "I've had longer to grasp what's going on with him. I didn't just find out, I've known for a while now. So it's understandable that you freak out right now. I know I did when I found out."

"So what exactly is this HCM? I mean… I just don't get it." Haley didn't understand how this could happen. With that Brooke went in to explaining what exactly Lucas had told her about the disease.

"So you've been helping him pay for it?" Brooke just nodded her head and said "He didn't wanna take it. You know how Lucas is, can't get help from anyone, and always wants to do it on his own." Both girls had little smiles playing on their lips as they thought of the guy they both loved in very different ways. "Anyways… I wouldn't give up and he finally conceded and let me help him."

"He really loves you, ya know. I don't think I've ever seen him happier then when you're around and I've known him my whole life. Plus it just proves how much he loves you since you got his stubborn ass to let you help him." Both girls, with tears in their eyes, laughed at Haley's comment. It got real quiet as both girls were consumed with their own thoughts.

"I didn't tell him I loved him." Haley barely heard the words that slipped between Brooke's lips. "What?" she asked as she looked into the brunettes hazel eyes.

"I didn't tell him I loved him when he left this morning. I thought… that I would just see him later and I could tell him but I didn't think this would happen. What if I don't get to tell him again?" Brooke had a fresh batch of tears in her eyes at the thought of never telling him again.

"Oh Brooke…" Haley wrapped her arms tightly around her and whispered in her ear "…he knows that you love him. He knows Brooke! And you will get the chance to tell him again. He is gonna be fine, I know it. He wouldn't leave you now that he has you back." Haley's words did comfort her but she knew she wouldn't feel better until she saw him and heard his voice.

"Thanks Hales. That means a lot." For now they just had to wait for the doctor to come out and tell them they could see him.

It was another hour before the doctor came out and said they could go in and see him finally. By this point, Karen had joined in on the waiting game and had been informed of all the information. She signed the consent for surgery form and had caught up with the doctor and he explained all about the HCM. This is not how she wanted to return from another trip.

She could tell how distraught Brooke was and saw the hope in her eyes every time a doctor would come into the waiting room and she saw the look of relief when Lucas's doctor came in and said they could see him. Only two visitors at a time he said since they didn't want Lucas to be overwhelmed so Karen and Brooke made there way back to his room, room 327.

They got to the door and Karen walked in. Brooke thought she would give mother and son a moment and wait until they were done.

Lucas lay there with machines beeping all around him, tubes and wires attached to various parts of his body. Karen walked over to her baby and brushed the hair away from his forehead and placed a gentle kiss that only a mother could give her child. Lucas stirred and turned his head to face his mom. "Hey…" he said his voice raspy.

"Hey… I thought you weren't ever gonna do this to me again?" Lucas looked down sheepishly and said "Yea…"

"So, why didn't you tell me?" and with that Lucas spent the next couple of minutes explaining why he hadn't told anyone and even though Karen was upset, she was just glad he was okay.

Lucas looked towards the door and Karen knew what he was looking for, or rather who. She smiled at him before she said "She's outside the door." Lucas looked back at her with a look Karen had never seen in her son's eyes before. She knew in that moment with out a doubt that her baby was in love. Not just high school, you get over it in a week or two way but a real can't stop smiling when their around, eyes sparkling, give up anything for them kind of way. Karen leaned down, kissed his cheek, and went towards the door. She opened it and in stepped Brooke who had the same look Lucas had in his eyes only seconds before.

The two lovers locked eyes and shared a smile thatmade it seem as though they knew a secret that no one else knew but them. It was shy, sweet, compassionate, and full of love. Karen cleared her throat, "I'll just give you two a minute." And with that she was out the door before either could protest, not that they would have.

Brooke walked over to Lucas, tears silently rolling down her porcelain smooth face and she grabbed his hand in one of hers and used the other to brush through his hair. They locked eyes and Lucas tilted his head and said "Hey… don't cry, I'm fine. Look…"his hand gesturing to his body.

She brought her hand down to cup his cheek and ran her thumb over his jaw bone letting it make its way across his bottom lip. "I love you…" her voice was shaky and held so much emotion. Lucas grabbed her hand that was now back on his cheek and placed a sweet kiss in the center of her palm. At this point Brooke lost it and was now sobbing. Lucas pulled her to him slidding over on the bed to make room for the both of them to lay comfortablyand she rested her head on his chest, listening to his beating heart. He ran his fingers through her hair as it cascaded around his shoulder.

She was shaking and trembling from crying so much and her tears were soaking through Lucas ugly hospital gown. She could feel his warm breath against her ear as he whispered "I love you too, pretty girl."

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So this is officially the longest update I have written.I was gonna break some of it up into other chapters but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging! I hate that! Anyways... up next is the surgery! I hope you guys like this story... please review if you do and let me know what you think! Thanks - Charley


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